A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter went aloft at dawn Wednesday to resume the search for two people who may have been aboard a powerboat when a fire broke out.
The vessel was destroyed about two miles offshore west of the Venice Pier.
Smoke and flames were visible for miles as fire raged aboard the 27-foot Casey Lynn Tuesday afternoon, and Harbor Patrol firefighters were dispatched to put out the blaze at 4:48 p.m., said Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Frederic Stowers.
"A good Samaritan reported seeing the boat depart from Marina Del Rey," said Lt. j.g. Tyler Stutin of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles. "The boat is registered out of Channel Islands Harbor, but we don't know if the registered owner was on board."
The registered owner is Michael Martinez of Woodland Hills, he said.
The Casey Lynn is a white Sea Ray recreational cruiser, a powerboat with limited space below deck, said Petty Officer Kevin Sweetman of the Coast Guard command center in Long Beach.
"We are still actively searching for possibly two people in the water," he said. "The initial report was there were two people possibly on board."
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Crews on an MH-65C Dolphin helicopter and four vessels were involved in the search, including the cutter Blackfin, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat that stayed out at sea overnight, the Coast Guard reported. The chopper took off at dawn this morning to resume the search, according to the agency.
The burned-out remnants of the Casey Lynn were towed to shore Tuesday. Arson investigators have been assigned to determine what happened, according to County Fire.
