UPDATE: Portsmouth Marine Police confirmed that a body was found. For more, click here.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Portsmouth Fire Rescue responded to a boat on fire in the Elizabeth River early Thursday morning.

According to officials, just before 6 a.m., crews were dispatched to the Elizabeth River along the I-164 West Norfolk Freeway for reports of a boat fire.

A WAVY 10 viewer sent a photo of the fire showing heavy flames and smoke coming from the vessel.

After assistance from the Coast Guard, the fire was considered under control around 6:20 a.m. In total, 10 Portsmouth Fire Rescue personnel, Coast Guard, Virginia Marine Police and Portsmouth Police all responded to the incident.

In addition, the Chesapeake Police Department deployed an underwater drone, and the Newport News Fire Department sent their dive team searching the sunken vessel to see if anybody was onboard.

The boat is considered a total loss.

Witness Dave Wakeman was crossing the West Norfolk Bridge on his way to work when he noticed smoke billowing from below.

“Oh, it was fully engulfed in flames, the smoke was going, you know, hundreds of feet into the air. Just dark black,” he said.

Observing from a nearby business, W.F. Magann Corporation, Port Captain Eric Page saw the flames.

“I saw the dinghy. The rope on the dinghy come loose, burn through and come loose. The bow of the dinghy was on fire. That was floating down the river. My guys was on this boat fighting the fire. Flames from one end to the other, from the mouth to the stern, about 10 foot to 12 foot high,” he said.

According to The Virginia Marine Police, they do know who owns the boat and are contacting family members asking if the owners have been in contact.

“We saw it go up so fast that if he was in the bow of that sailboat, there was no way he was making it out,” said Page. “That’s sad to say. I hope that not the case, but nobody can make it out of that. Not possible. It went up so fast.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.