At least two people are dead and four others are still missing after a fishing boat sank off the coast of Cape May Tuesday morning.

The Coast Guard says crews removed three of the boaters from the Atlantic, but one was dead. According to Senior Petty Officer Stephen Carleton, another person was unresponsive, but the third was conscious and alert. The Coast Guard later confirmed a second crew member had died.

The Coast Guard received a transmission from an emergency radio beacon at around 7:30 a.m. and launched their helicopters. Authorities say the boat sank about 65 miles off the coast of Cape May at around 5 a.m. and that there is no sign of the remaining four boaters.

When the first helicopter reached the spot where the transmission originated, rescuers found an empty life raft and three people in the water, all wearing lifesaving suits, Carleton said. It wasn?t clear how long the boaters were in the water.

Officials say the boat was the 71-foot Lady Mary, based in Cape May.

AP wire reports contributed to this article.