Eight US nationals were missing feared dead Monday after a tourist fishing trip off the northern Mexican coast ended in disaster, naval officials said. The ship Erick set sail from San Felipe with 44 people onboard Saturday but was caught up in a storm Sunday in the Sea of Cortez, which lies between the Baja California peninsula and the main Mexican coast, authorities said. State security chief in Mexicali Marco Antonio Carrillo said a body had been found floating a few kilometers from the shipwreck and authorities were trying to determine if it was one of the missing Americans. The Mexican crew of 17 and the remaining passengers made it to shore and small islands nearby using lifeboats, said Rene Salvador Rosado, state security director in Mexicali. Authorities said the survivors were all well and had been taken to hotels. US Coast Guard Petty Officer Pamela Boehland told CNN that US authorities were sending a helicopter to assist Mexican rescue workers. She said there was one unconfirmed report of a fatality. The navy earlier had said six people were missing.