3 fishermen missing as Hurricane Marie churns off Mexico

Three fishermen were missing Sunday off Mexico's coast as Hurricane Marie churned powerfully in the Pacific Ocean. The eighth hurricane of the eastern Pacific season, Marie briefly hit category five, the most powerful storm rating on the Saffir-Simpson scale, before calming slightly. ‘Unfortunately, we have three missing fishermen,’ said Wenceslao Petit, director of civil protection in the tourist hub of Los Cabos. Marines were searching for the three, who had gone out to sea on the Tio Chori with four others. The boat sank in the heavy waves caused by the storm, but four of the fishermen were able to swim to shore. The civil protection agency has declared a state of emergency in the Los Cabos region. Marie was packing maximum sustained winds of 150 miles (240 kilometers) per hour, according to the latest bulletin from US forecasters. But the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) suggested the worst may be over, forecasting ‘some fluctuations in intensity’ overnight, and ‘a general weakening trend’ starting Monday, according to AFP.