US coastguard teams searching for 39 people missing off the Florida coast after their boat overturned have recovered a body.

The unnamed person was discovered by the crew of a cutter, as officials say they hope to find the other 38 alive but admit the situation is becoming “more dire” the longer they remain in the water.

At least one person has survived the capsizing in the Atlantic Ocean between the Bahamas and Florida after the suspected human smuggling operation went badly wrong during a storm several days ago.

He was taken to hospital suffering from dehydration and sun exposure after being found sitting on the hull, 45 miles east of Fort Pierce Inlet, by the crew of a merchant vessel early on Tuesday.

The man told his rescuers that he was in a group of 40 people who left the Bahamas island of Bimini on Saturday night.

He said the boat capsized in bad weather on Sunday morning and no-one had worn life jackets.

At the weekend, a small craft advisory had been issued for a severe cold front blowing through the dangerous passage with winds up to 23mph and swells up to three metres, according to the coastguard.

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Crews on at least four ships and five aircraft have already scanned an area about the size of New Jersey, according to Captain Jo-Ann F Burdian.

They plan to continue searching throughout Wednesday before re-assessing the operation.

“We are using every piece of information we can to make sure we are exhausting our search efforts,” Capt Burdian said.

“But we can’t search forever.”

She also admitted “the longer they remain in the water… exposed to the marine environment… with every moment that passes, it becomes much more dire and more unlikely” that survivors would be found.

Bahamas is stepping stone to reach US

Migrants have long used the Bahamas as a stepping stone to reach Florida and the US.

They usually try to take advantage of breaks in the weather to make the crossing, but the vessels are often dangerously overcrowded and at risk of capsizing.

Thousands of people have died over the years.

The migrants making the journeys are mostly from Haiti and Cuba, but authorities in the Bahamas reported finding them from other parts of the world, including Colombia and Ecuador, earlier this month.

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