US baseball star José Fernández dies in boat accident aged 24

US baseball star José Fernández has died in a boat accident aged 24.

The Miami Marlins pitcher was one of three men killed when a boat overturned off Miami Beach, the US Coast Guard said.

Emergency teams found the 32-foot vessel capsized on a jetty with two bodies underneath it and one body in the water.

Lorenzo Veloz, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation, said the two other victims have not been identified, but were aged between 24 and 27.

"The boat is a total loss - it's horrible, it's bad," Mr Veloz said, adding that none of the passengers had been wearing life jackets.

The Miami Marlins team said in a statement on Twitter: "The Miami Marlins organisation is devastated by the tragic loss of José Fernández. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very difficult time."

In a tearful press conference, Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly said: "When you talk about someone whose personality could outshine his talent - normally it's the other way around - and in this case, his love of family and the game and being José, you know that's a lot of the stories being told around Miami right now."

Tributes have been pouring in for the baseball star, who defected from his native Cuba in 2007, before settling in Florida and becoming a US citizen last year.

The Major League Baseball Players Association sent condolences to Fernández's family and friends, while Florida Governor Rick Scott paid tribute to the baseball player on Twitter.

Major League Baseball announced a league-wide silence before all games on Sunday in tribute to Fernández.

The sports star was drafted by the Marlins in 2011, and won the National League's Rookie of the Year award in 2013.