The Coast Guard is searching for a ship that may be in trouble after a directory assistance operator in Utah received a call from someone saying he was on a ship that was sinking near Cape Cod.
A US WEST directory assistance operator from Salt Lake City called the Coast Guard in Woods Hole about 11 p.m. Sunday and said they received a call from a man saying he was on a ship that was sinking about 15 nautical miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Lieutenant Maureen March said Monday.March said officials speculated the man may have had a cellular telephone and mistakenly dialed the area code for Utah, 801, instead of the area for western Massachusetts, 508.
The connection got disconnected as the man was about to give his position, March said. The caller did not give his identity or any other information, she said.
The Coast Guard has a helicopter, an airplane, two patrol boats and several smaller boats involved in the search, according to March.
March said there have been no reports of overdue vessels and a broadcast over the marine radio seeking information on the incident has not elicited any response.