Search Fails to Locate Vessel

A search plane early today failed to find a motor-sailboat with 18 people aboard that had radioed a distress call saying it was on fire in heavy seas 800 miles southeast of here, the Coast Guard said.

Ham radio operators in Hawaii and as far away as Washington and Tennessee picked up distress calls from the Mary Margaret requesting medical assistance Monday night, said Coast Guard spokesman Bob Schenck. The size of the vessel, its passengers, origin and destination are not known, Schenck said.