Accidents of the Week - April 11, 2026

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4 Rescued from Disabled Sailboat in Shipping Channel

3/28/26 – Johns Island, SC

Marine crews quickly rescued a disabled sailboat from an active shipping lane near Charleston, South Carolina.

Officials with St. John’s Fire District said its marine team, alongside area partners and the Charleston Fire Department and U.S. Coast Guard, responded to a sailboat in distress on the morning of 28 March. The vessel suffered a broken mast and became disabled in an active shipping lane.

Agency Highlights Readiness in ‘Dynamic Maritime Environment’

“With a container vessel approaching, crews quickly assessed the situation and took decisive action. Marine 701 safely transferred four occupants from the sailboat onto our vessel, removing them from immediate danger,” said St. John’s Fire.

“Crews then secured a hip tow and repositioned the disabled sailboat out of the shipping channel, restoring safe passage for maritime traffic.” Once the vessel was anchored safely, emergency crews helped its occupants coordinate a tow from the water.

The rescue highlighted the importance of coordinated response, strong partnerships, and staying ready in a dynamic maritime environment, the agency said.
 

Two Kayakers Rescued from Wisconsin River  

3/29/26 – Wausau, WI 

Rescue crews were sent to the Wisconsin River in Plover, Wisconsin, on the morning of 29 March after two people fell into the water while in a kayak.

Officials said it took time for crews to locate the pair after the initial call came in just before 10 a.m., but rescue crews had both people out of the water around 10:30 a.m. The scene was cleared close to 11 a.m.

One of the kayakers told dispatch the younger person was cold and that the kayaker was considering starting a fire. Rescue crews said they did not start one. After being checked out by first responders, both people were released with no injuries.
 

Woman Killed, Man Hurt by Spinning Boat 

3/28/26 – Key Biscayne, FL

Video footage taken in the aftermath of two people being ejected from a boat off Key Biscayne, Florida, on the morning of 28 March showed the twin-engine center console spinning in circles before marine patrol officers brought the unmanned vessel under control.

Both people on board were thrown from the SeaVee Z. The woman, 33-year-old Claudia Balmaseda Orellanes, was dead when first responders pulled her from the water, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), which was investigating the incident.

TowBoat Captain: Boaters Hit by Spinning Vessel’s Props

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue paramedics took the man, 54-year-old Neil D. Schwabe, who was operating the boat, to the hospital, the FWC added.

The FWC did not say how the two people ended up in the water off the Nixon Beach sandbar, leaving the boat without an operator. Martin Luciani, a captain with TowBoatUS, who responded to the scene, said both were struck by the vessel’s propellers.

 

Boaters Rescued from Gunpowder River

3/30/26 – Harford Co., MD

Two young men were rescued on the night of 29 March after their small fishing boat broke down and drifted into a shallow stretch of Maryland’s Gunpowder River, leaving them stranded on an island for about an hour, officials said.

Around 9 p.m., fire companies and police departments from Harford and Baltimore counties, along with crews from White Marsh, Kingsville and elsewhere, responded after one of the men’s mothers called the Coast Guard, according to Max King, vice president of the Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Department.

The two men, aged 18 and 22, had launched around dusk in a 12-foot aluminum boat and drifted about three-quarters of a mile.

King said Bowleys Quarters sent an 18-foot jon boat crewed by him and his grandson, Tristan, while other agencies responded. A Baltimore County Police helicopter helped locate the men, and cellphone data also aided the search.

King said the shallow water made the rescue tricky. “We went through some areas getting into there that were less than a foot and a half deep, and even with our boat, that’s about the limit of it,” he said.

The two men were not injured, King said, and their boat was towed back to where they launched.
 

One Dead in Tragic Boating Incident on Florida Lake

3/31/26 – Panama City, FL

A boating trip on Florida’s Deer Point Lake ended in tragedy after a gheenoe, a shallow-draft vessel similar to a canoe, overturned and threw two people into the water, triggering rescue efforts. Just after 11:15 a.m. on 31 March, employees of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) heard a distress call coming from two people on the north side of Deer Point Lake.

“One of the individuals was unresponsive at the time of contact, and a third individual arrived to assist as well,” said FWC Officer Christopher Boley.

Bay County Sheriff’s Deputies rushed to the scene, including a sergeant in the Criminal Investigations Division who immediately jumped into the water to help, alongside an FWC employee.

First Responder Hospitalized After Rescue Effort

Officials said the sergeant was able to reach one of the individuals, but during the rescue effort, he swallowed a significant amount of water and lost consciousness. “We are getting some positive information from the doctor that he’s in stable condition, even though he’ll remain sedated and intubated as a precaution that he did take on a lot of water, which was a very serious situation,” Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said.

As for the boaters, one survived, the other, confirmed only as a male, passed away at the scene.

Investigators were working to determine what exactly caused the vessel to overturn, with the FWC taking charge of the investigation.

 

7 Rescued After Boat Begins Taking on Water

3/30/26 – Port Richey, FL

Seven people were rescued by the Port Richey Fire Department in Pasco County, Florida, on the evening of 29 March when their boat began taking on water.

The Fire Department’s Marine 42 responded to a call for help and found five adults and two children in a boat that was in trouble. The boat was located near the entrance of the Pithlachascotee River channel. All seven occupants were safely taken to Nick’s Park on Bayview Street in Port Richey.

The Coast Guard was alerted that the vessel was a navigational hazard. However, there was no word on when the vessel would be removed from the channel.
 

 

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