miles west of Bermuda at 5.20 p.m. last night.

It was the second beacon to go off in 24 hours -- another one was detected 60 miles northeast of here earlier yesterday.

Harbour Radio said last night's beacon could be a plane or a boat in distress, but it was not known which, as it was an older-style of beacon common to both aircraft and vessels.

He said nine aircraft had flown over the beacon and reported it to air traffic controllers in New York who in turn relayed it to the US Coast Guard's search and rescue operation.

A Coast Guard jet was diverted to Bermuda but was then unable to land because of rough weather.

Earlier in the day Harbour Radio detected a mysterious distress signal apparently from a vessel which had been abandoned months earlier and presumed lost.

On Nov. 5 the US Coast Guard evacuated two crew members from the 49-foot power craft Endless Summer , Harbour Radio told The Royal Gazette .

Harbour Radio responds to two distress beacons And the stricken vessel was abandoned somewhere off the coast of West Palm Beach, Florida after it began taking on water.

But early yesterday local authorities picked up the boat's emergency beacon some 60-miles northeast of the Island.

Nearby ships were alerted to look out for a vessel in distress and a US Coast Guard aircraft searched the area.

The beacon was located by mid-morning, but there was no trace of the missing boat. By mid-day, officials cancelled the search.

An official suggested the beacon may have successfully detached itself months ago, but failed to function until floating into local waters. Or the boat may have remained afloat and made its way across the Atlantic.

The beacon could then have been automatically activated by the boat's recent sinking, he said.

"Anything that happens down south comes back to haunt us,'' he added.