Accidents of the Week - August 10, 2024
BoatTEST publishes “Accidents of the Week” as a public service for our VIP Subscribers to acquaint them with potential boating dangers and by inference their prevention.
Boat Bursts into Flames with 5 Aboard Off California Coast
7/28/24 – Los Angeles, CA
Five people were rescued from a sinking boat as it burned off the Southern California coast, rescuers reported.
Lifeguards and firefighters responded to a call about the burning 51-foot-long vessel at about 7 a.m. on Sunday 28 July, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Lifeguard Division, said in a Facebook post.
Bystanders rescued the five people, who were taken to a hospital, rescuers said. Baywatch Avalon started extinguishing the blazing boat to prevent the fire from spreading “to the island cliff face nearby,” rescuers said.
Photos shared by the department showed smoke billowing from the boat near the island as firefighters battled the blaze. Forty-five minutes after crews started dousing the blaze, the boat sank, rescuers said.
The incident was turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard and salvagers, who were set to retrieve what they could of the boat to mitigate pollution, according to rescuers.
Teenagers Rescued Trying to Swim PWC Back to Shore
8/3/24 – Lake Co., MT
Search and Rescue (SAR) in Lake County, Montana, was dispatched to Flathead Lake around 4:40 p.m. on 3 August when the reporting party heard someone calling for help in the middle of the lake.
SAR said two teenagers were attempting to swim a personal watercraft (PWC) back to the shore. When the crew arrived on the scene, another boater was trying to assist in the rescue, but their engine ended up dying.
The SAR boat towed the teens' PWC and brought the boys, who were wearing life jackets, back to shore. The Good Samaritan's boat started up eventually, so SAR only had to tow the PWC.
Five Rescued from Sinking Yacht in Maryland
7/27/24 – Anne Arundel Co., MD
Five people were taken to the shore safely after a yacht overturned and began to sink in southern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, according to the Maryland Natural Resources Police.
Officers said they were dispatched to the mouth of the West River in response to reports of a vessel overturned in the water. When they arrived, officers said they found an overturned 122’ motor yacht with five individuals on board.
All five were transported to the shore safely, officials said, and did not require medical treatment.
Two 4-Year-Olds Dead After Pontoon Boat Capsizes on Arizona Lake
7/26/24 – Page, AZ
A woman and two children died and two others were hospitalized after a pontoon boat capsized on Lake Powell in northern Arizona, authorities said on 28 July.
National Park Service officials said the privately owned 25-foot pontoon was being towed by another boater when it was overturned by waves on the afternoon of 26 July, near the mouth of Navajo Canyon within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Lake Powell is located northeast of Page and near the Arizona-Utah border.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and found some of the 11 passengers atop the overturned pontoon and others in the water and trapped underneath the boat. Glen Canyon rangers and Page Fire Department personnel helped get the injured out of the water and into ambulances and helicopters to be rushed to hospitals.
Three Died at the Scene, Two More Hospitalized
Authorities reported that 72-year-old Melissa Bean and two 4-year-old boys died at the scene. The names of the boys were not released at the time. Authorities said two other pontoon passengers remained hospitalized -- a 12-year-old girl in critical condition and a man being treated for undisclosed injuries. It was unclear if any of the victims were related, but authorities said families from Utah and Idaho were on the pontoon when it capsized.
The incident was being investigated by the county sheriff’s department, National Park Service and county medical examiner’s office.
Body Pulled from Lake Michigan After ‘Speeding’ Yacht Capsizes
7/28/24 – Chicago, IL
Crews pulled the body of a missing boater from Lake Michigan near Chicago’s 31st Street Harbor on the afternoon of 28 July, officials said.
Chicago police said the man's body was pulled from the water at about 12:45 p.m. He was pronounced dead on the scene. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office later identified him as 40-year-old Lorenzo Tobin of Country Club Hills, Illinois. Tobin had been missing since a yacht capsized and sank in the area on the night of 26 July.
The U.S. Coast Guard said they received calls about a 25-foot double-decker pleasure yacht capsizing and then sinking around 7:30 p.m. near 31st Street Harbor. The Coast Guard said 16 people were on the boat at the time of the incident.
Everyone except Tobin made it out of the water. Three people, a man and two women, were taken to a local hospital for treatment after the incident, all in good condition, police said. Authorities had earlier postponed their search for Tobin on 27 July, due to dangerous and choppy conditions.
A witness said he saw the boat speeding in the water before flipping over, and then he heard screams for help.
Coast Guard Rescues 2 Sailors in Tropical Storm Debby
8/4/24 – Boca Grande, FL
Coast Guard aircrews rescued two adrift boaters on 4 August, after their 34-foot sailing vessel lost a sail 73 miles off Boca Grande, Florida. No injuries were reported.
Two boaters were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after their sailboat lost a sail during Tropical Storm Debby. An Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane rescue crew located the disabled vessel with both boaters aboard around 11 a.m. The aircrew guided in an Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter rescue crew who recovered and transported the boaters to Air Station Clearwater.
A friend of the boaters contacted Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg on Saturday around 5 p.m., reporting the two boaters missed their check-in while sailing from Key West to Tarpon Springs.
Family Feared Dead After Boat Capsizes in Alaska Waters
8/3/24 – Homer, AK
A “beloved” Texas couple and their two young sons were feared to have died after the boat they were on capsized and sank into 51-degree water off a remote coastline of Alaska.
The US Coast Guard received a report around 7 p.m. on 3 August that a 28-foot aluminum vessel carrying eight people had sent out a distress call that it had begun taking on water and was in dire need of being rescued, according to local news reports. A radio broadcast was quickly sent out by the Coast Guard to other ships in the area to aid in the rescue about 16 miles off the coast of Homer, Alaska, branch spokesman Travis Magee told the outlet.
Four Rescued by Ship, Family Missing
Magee said the ship Salty Sea responded to the call before rescue personnel reached the sinking vessel and saved four people stranded in a life raft in the frigid water. Those four were not injured and were expected to be okay.
However, Mary and David Maynard, along with their two young sons, Colton, 11, and Brantley, 7, remained missing. Family friend Stetson Chase provided a statement on Facebook on behalf of Mary Maynard’s parents and confirmed that the Troy, Texas, family were onboard when the ship was sinking and were yet to be found.
The Coast Guard immediately launched a search and rescue for the missing family around the area where the boat sank, using a helicopter, plane, cutter, and two other vessels, with help from Alaska wildlife troopers and good Samaritan boats to scan the area around where the ship sank.
Search efforts were ultimately suspended around 6 p.m. on 4 August.
Coast Guard, Good Samaritan Rescue Man Overboard
8/3/24 – San Pedro, CA
A man overboard was rescued by the Coast Guard and a good Samaritan approximately six miles northeast of Santa Cruz Island, California, on 3 August.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach command center received a call from a 49-foot boat at approximately 3:45 p.m. reporting a 66-year-old man fell overboard with no lifejacket. Watchstanders diverted Coast Guard Station Channel Islands 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boat crews and Coast Guard Auxiliary air support.
Watchstanders also coordinated the launches of the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Blackfin and a Coast Guard Air Station San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter air crew. Towboat US, and a good Samaritan aircraft also assisted in the search.
Coast Guard Stresses Need for PFD ‘At All Times’
At approximately 4:33 p.m. a good Samaritan vessel, "Perception" located and recovered the man. Towboat US met with the Perception, confirmed the identity of the man, and Station Channel Islands RB-M boat crews embarked the man and transferred him back to the 49-foot vessel.
"This incident highlights the importance of wearing a life jacket at all times when underway, especially in rough seas," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Logan Venero, a boatswain's mate assigned to Station Channel Islands.
"In the unfortunate event of a man overboard, it is important to remain calm, mark the position on the GPS and throw a life ring or other flotation aid towards the person in the water. It is also important to remain where the person fell off and drift with the prevailing winds and currents," BM2 Venero added. No medical concerns were reported.
5-Year-Old Flown to Hospital After Boat Explosion
8/4/24 – Madill, OK
A 5-year-old Oklahoma City boy was flown to a Dallas hospital on the afternoon of 4 August, after gasoline fumes ignited and caused an explosion on the boat he was on, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) reported.
At about 2:45 p.m., Brandon Cox, 52, of Oklahoma City, was operating a boat on Lake Texoma, about 7.5 miles east of Madill, and had just finished fueling the boat. Troopers said the boat drifted from the dock where it had been refueled, and as Cox attempted to start the engine, a spark ignited gasoline fumes, causing an explosion and fire.
Explosion Caused by ‘Equipment Failure’: OHP
The boy, whose name was not released, suffered burns to his arms, legs and face. He was flown to the Parkland Burn Center in Dallas to be treated for his injuries, troopers reported. Cox and two other passengers on the boat were not injured in the incident, the patrol reported.
OHP troopers said the cause of the explosion had been due to equipment failure.