Was 'call of distress' about yacht explosion a hoax?

NBC New York

Emergency crews stage for rescues in yacht explosion.

By NBCNewYork.com and msnbc.com

A report of a yacht explosion off the New Jersey coast prompted a massive search Monday afternoon, but officials have not found the boat or any debris after searching for more than three hours, Coast Guard spokeswoman Jetta Disco said.

Officials raised the possibility that the incident may be a hoax, but the search continued into the evening.

According to U.S. Coast Guard officials, an emergency radio transmission came in at 4:20 p.m. saying that the Blind Date, a motor yacht, had exploded 17.5 miles east of Sandy Hook.

The caller said nine people were injured but that the 21 people aboard had been accounted for and were floating on life rafts. The caller was not able to provide the boat's precise location because the power had been cut.

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But three hours later, a large search effort yielded no hints of a yacht explosion, even though search conditions were ideal, with air and water temperatures in the 60s, Disco said. Seven aircraft, including helicopters and fixed-wing planes, and two Good Samaritan vessels continued to comb the area, Disco said.

"In any of these cases, especially when we are on the scene quickly and are unable to locate the reporting vessel, there is always the need to consider the possibility of a hoax," Coast Guard Lt. Joe Klinker told NBC News.

Disco said she did not know whether the yacht had a float plan, which is typical. She said that when she looked up the boat in a database, many vessels named Blind Date came up.?

The Coast Guard has received false distress calls in the past, Disco said.

NBC's Jonathan Dienst and msnbc.com's Isolde Raftery contributed to this report.

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