Accidents of the Week - June 14, 2025
Six Large Yachts Destroyed, Damaged in Florida Marina Fire
6/6/25 – Miami, FL
Multiple boats were destroyed or damaged by fire early morning on 6 June in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) said when crews arrived just after 5 a.m., they found a docked yacht fully engulfed in flames behind an apartment building, near the NE163 Street bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway and Oleta River State Park. They said the fire had spread to two other boats docked nearby.
Breaking Burning Vessels Loose ‘Saved All the Other Boats’
"These vessels are typically made out of fiberglass, which is highly combustible, and it quickly spread to the other vessels," MDFR Marine Services Bureau Chief Andy Alvarez said. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said they moved quickly to pull the boats away from the marina and single them out.
"We were able to secure the other ones and break those loose, which obviously saved all the other boats. If we would have done nothing, this entire marina would have been completely torched, every boat would have been completely charred," said Alvarez.
Six large vessels were impacted in all, MDFR said, including one of which was almost 90-feet, two personal watercraft, and a dingy.
Lost Boy on Paddleboard Braves Gators, Fast Current
6/2/25 – Miami, FL
The search for a missing 7-year-old paddleboarder came to a surprising end when state wildlife officers discovered he had overcome countless hazards to push 1.5 miles upstream, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported.
Greyson Hardy’s adventure also left him lost in wilderness that is home to alligators, copperheads, and bear. “His first words after being found? ‘Do you have any food?’” FWC Captain Keith Clark said in a news release.
Greyson was found around 5:30 p.m. on 2 June, after vanishing earlier in the day while paddleboarding on Rocky Creek in the Florida Panhandle, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Rocky Creek is a tree-shrouded blackwater stream that winds through “pristine hardwood forests,” but it is notorious for having a fast current and an abundance of fallen trees to circumvent, according to Eglin Air Force Base. The search eventually grew to include marine units and drones from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, and staff from multiple fire departments and Eglin Air Force Base.
Before being found, the boy had navigated past “a challenging stretch of creek filled with submerged trees and other obstacles,” FWC officers reported. Greyson was still paddling upstream when he “heard the voices of people calling his name,” officials said.
FWC officers reached him just two hours shy of sunset. “He was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and is doing well,” the FWC said.
Two Injured in Boat Explosion After Refueling
6/7/25 – Branson, MO
A boat explosion on Missouri’s Table Rock Lake, near Indian Point Marina, resulted in two injuries on the morning of 7 June, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Authorities reported that a 1989 Carver Santego 38-foot vessel exploded at at 9:35 a.m., shortly after being fueled.
According to the report, the operator of the boat attempted to start the engine after fueling at the marina when the explosion occurred. The boat sustained total damage.
Passengers, Operator Not Using Safety Devices
The driver of the vessel was identified as a 50-year-old male from Nixa, Missouri. He was not using a safety device at the time of the incident. The boat was stationary, described as “tied,” when the explosion happened.
Two passengers were injured in the explosion. An 18-year-old female from Branson, Missouri, sustained minor injuries and was transported by private vehicle to an unidentified urgent care facility. A 74-year-old female from Springfield, Missouri, suffered serious injuries and was airlifted by Life Flight to Mercy Hospital in Springfield.
Neither occupant was using a safety device. The Missouri State Highway Patrol was investigating the incident with assistance from the Missouri Fire Marshal’s Office.
Coast Guard Rescues Adrift Boaters Off Puerto Rico
5/28/25 – Gilligans Island, PR
The US Coast Guard safely rescued three boaters after their 26-foot vessel lost power and drifted toward a reef near Gilligan's Island, Puerto Rico, on 28 May.
The Air Station Borinquen crew responded quickly, ensuring all individuals were rescued without injury. The boat was later returned to shore.
Rescuers Find No Sign of Kayaker Feared Drowned
6/7/25 - Montoursville, PA
An experienced kayaker who went on an outing in Pennsylvania’s Loyalsock Creek on a gorgeous morning on 7 June is feared to have drowned after his kayak upset in an area known as “the rapids,” about a half a mile south of Broad Street in Montoursville, according to the district officer of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Emergency crews using several boats spent much of the weekend looking for the victim, but there still was no sign of him when the search was called off at about 4 p.m. on 8 June, as a steady rain fell.
“This is a (body) recovery at this point,” Hunter Shoemaker, a water conservation officer with the commission and the lead investigator, said shortly before the search was called off.
The victim, riding solo, along with a male friend and the friend’s 4-year-old son who were together in a second kayak, entered the creek up stream and were in the water less than 15 minutes when both kayaks upset in rapids about 11:15 a.m., Shoemaker explained. The rapids contained “strainers” — items such as tree branches, limbs and debris that obstruct the flow of the water, making it very challenging for kayakers to get through, he said.
Missing Kayaker Reportedly Not Wearing PFD
“Kayaking in this section of the creek can be kind of tricky, especially with the amount of rain the region has had in recent weeks,” Shoemaker explained on 8 June. “The added rain not only raises the water level, but brings down more trees, causing more hazards. The new tree strainers change the waterway from what a kayaker might have remembered in the past. Suddenly a kayaker finds themselves facing new trees that they now have to try to navigate around,” he said.
From what he was told, Shoemaker said the missing man was “a very experienced kayaker. However, for the father-son, who are from the Montoursville area, it was their first time that they had been in a kayak.”
When the kayaks upset, the father and son, both of whom were wearing life jackets, made it safely out of the water, Shoemaker said, adding that the missing victim was not wearing such a personal flotation device.
Man Dies, Woman Hospitalized After Boating Incident
6/8/25 – Bell Co., TX
A man died and a woman was in the hospital after a boating incident on Texas’ Lake Belton on the afternoon of 8 June. A 911 call was made at around 1:36 p.m. about a boater in trouble on the lake, at Rogers Park near Morgan’s Point Resort, according to authorities.
According to authorities, the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, Morgan’s Point Resort Fire Department, Morgan’s Point Resort Police Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park rangers responded to the scene.
Once there, authorities said they found a man and a woman who had become separated from their boat while in the water.
Some bystanders had pulled the man from the water, while rescuers assisted the woman, according to authorities, with life-saving measures beginning on the man before both individuals were taken to the emergency department at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities said the man later died.
The Bell County Sheriff’s Office and the game wardens were continuing to investigate the incident. Authorities said they would not release the victims’ names until their family had been notified.
Coast Guard Investigates Boat Fire in Puerto Rico
6/4/25 – San Juan, PR
Coast Guard Sector San Juan marine investigators and Incident Management personnel responded on 4 June to a fire aboard the 75-foot motor yacht Emilia in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
The vessel fire was successfully extinguished by local emergency responders, there were no people missing or injuries reported, and Coast Guard investigators were working to determine the cause of the incident.
Coast Guard Incident Management personnel worked with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and other local authorities to assess the impact of any remaining fuel pollution in the water.
Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received a call from a 911 emergency management service operator at 5:54 p.m. reporting the fire and five people onboard the motor yacht Emilia. Watchstanders were able to establish communications with the vessel operator who relayed the vessel had just been refueled at Puerto del Rey Marina and had approximately 600 gallons of diesel onboard.
Five Boaters Pulled from Water by Good Samaritan
After refueling, the vessel Emilia was heading to Puerto Chico Marina when the fire alarm was activated soon after, followed by smoke emanating from the engine room.
The operator proceeded to anchor the vessel and the five people onboard jumped into the water, where they were rescued by a Good Samaritan who transported them to the Puerto Chico Marina.
Coast Guard marine investigators and Puerto Rico Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action marine units responded to the scene, along with firefighters who successfully extinguished the fire, but the motor yacht Emilia sunk with its bow sticking out of the water.
Body of Missing 17-Year-Old Found in Georgia Lake
6/5/25 – Cherokee Co., GA
The body of a missing 17-year-old boy was recovered on the afternoon of 5 June from Georgia’s Lake Allatoona, bringing a tragic end to an intensive search that lasted less than 24 hours.
Jackson Cole Croft, of Woodstock, was found in 22 feet of water, just a few hundred feet from where his unmanned boat had been seen circling the previous evening, according to officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
According to Mark McKinnon with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, at approximately 3:38 p.m., side-scan sonar picked up something in the lake. Shortly after, divers went into the lake and recovered Croft's body in 22 feet of water, not far from where his 16-foot bass boat was found.
Mark McKinnon, with the Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Division, explained that "Mr. Croft was found in 22 feet of water. He was found within a few hundred feet of where the boat was found circling, and like I said, he was found with side scan sonar and recovered very quickly," said.
Search crews used advanced sonar equipment to navigate a challenging section of the lake marked by varying terrain, including sand, submerged timber, and debris. "It’s a very unusual part of the lake," McKinnon said. "There are a variety of different bottoms. Some areas had sandy bottoms, some had timber bottoms, and then there’s another area with a lot of debris."
Authorities were investigating Croft’s boat to determine what had led to the teen’s disappearance and death. He was not wearing a life jacket at the time he was found.
Two People Rescued from PWC in ‘Rough Water’
6/8/25 – Dagsboro, DE
Two people were rescued off Holts Landing near Dagsboro, Delaware, on 8 June, after officials say they were caught in rough water.
Units with Delaware’s Indian River, Millville, Dagsboro, and Bethany Beach responded about 7:45 p.m. to Indian River Bay. Officials said Marine 84 was able to locate the personal watercraft (PWC) with one subject in the water and another subject on the PWC.
Both subjects were retrieved, and the PWC was returned to the docking area.
To access BoatTEST’s archived “Accidents of the Week” become a VIP Member of BoatTEST and learn how you can avoid accidents of all types. Click here...