Coast Guard and Navy rescue 4 divers off coast of Carolinas

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — The Coast Guard and Navy rescued four divers who were reported missing Sunday off the Carolinas, officials said Monday.

The U.S. Coast Guard Mid-Atlantic announced the rescue on social media. It said the divers were rescued about 46 miles (74 kilometers) southeast of North Carolina’s Cape Fear River.

The four men were reported missing after they did not resurface on Sunday. They dove from a pleasure craft named Big Bill’s.

The Coast Guard said Sunday in a news release that the vessel was about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and about 63 miles (101 kilometers) east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The many shipwrecks off the coasts of both states are a popular draw for divers. The area is known for hundreds of shipwrecks and is called the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”

The Coast Guard said it sent several aircraft and boats to search for the divers.