Accidents of the Week - March 21, 2026
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40-Foot Boat Catches Fire Off Miami Beach
3/12/26 – Miami, FL
Fire crews responded after a 40-foot boat erupted in flames off Miami Beach, Florida, on 12 March.
Miami Beach Fire Rescue officials said crews responded and took everyone off the boat after it caught fire on the ocean side of 57th Street, with aerial footage showing multiple fireboats working to extinguish the blaze.
According to officials, there were no injuries and the fire was extinguished. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said they assisted in extinguishing the fire.
Man Drowns After Falling from Kayak
3/11/26 – Iredell, NC
A man died after falling from a kayak in North Carolina’s Lake Norman on 11 March, the local police department said.
Authorities received a call for service around 3 p.m. and found an empty kayak on Lake Norman. A 40-year-old man, identified as Joshua Craig Scribben, was found dead in the lake and his family was notified.
Kayaker Not Wearing PFD, Officials Say
The Police Department and Fire Department in Cornelius, North Carolina, assisted NC Wildlife with the operation. Officials noted Scribben was not wearing a life jacket.
Frigid Lake Norman waters may have contributed to a kayaker’s death this week, an officer with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission said on 13 March. The lake was 50 degrees or colder when Scribben went under, Senior Officer Sam Shepperd told local reporters.
Boater Rescued from Lake After Vessel Gets Stuck
3/7/26 – Lafayette Co., MS
First responders in Lafayette County, Mississippi, reportedly rescued a boater after the boat got stuck on a lake.
According to the Lafayette County Fire Department, first responders arrived at Mississippi’s Sardis Lake on 7 March to assist a boater. The fire department reported that low water levels had caused the boat to run aground.
The fire department reportedly used a drone to guide the boater to shore safely, and no injuries were reported.
Boater Hospitalized After Crash on Louisiana River
3/8/26 – Pearl River, LA
One person was hospitalized on 8 March after a boating crash in Pearl River, Louisiana.
Louisiana’s St. Tammany Fire Protection District was dispatched to the boat launch at Pump Slough Road, on the Old Pearl River, around 4:30 p.m.
The person injured in the boat crash was airlifted to a local hospital for further treatment, with no further information provided at the time.
Three Rescued After Canoe Capsizes
3/10/26 – Sparrowbush, NY
Three canoeists were rescued just after 9 a.m. on 10 March after the canoe they were in capsized in the cold, choppy Delaware River in Sparrowbush, New York.
Local fire department responders were on scene, along with ambulance crews, police, and National Park Service staff, with rescue boats retrieving the victims as they made it to a Pennsylvania shore.
Water Temperature ‘Still in the 30s’: Fire Chief
Fire Chief William Koferl of Westfall Township, Pennsylvania, said all three canoeists had life jackets on and were able to make their way to the cliff-lined Pennsylvania side of the river. The three overturned their canoe in the rapids and were pulled downriver from the bridge.
Once on shore, they immediately started a small fire in an attempt to warm themselves. “The water temperature is still in the 30s and, even though the level has come down a couple of feet, it’s still high,” Koferl said.
“I wouldn’t advise anyone to be on the river right now. It’s very high, very fast, and very cold, and there are all kinds of debris and ice chunks floating down the river.”
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