Accidents of the Week - November 16, 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.
Crane Drops Barge onto Boat at Marina
11/7/24 – Boston, MA
A crane working at a marina in East Boston. Massachusetts, dropped its load onto a boat below during a collapse on the morning of 7 November, fire officials said.
According to fire officials at the scene, the crane was moving a barge into the water at the Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina when one corner of it came loose, causing the load to crash down onto a boat below. No one was hurt, but the collapse damaged the crane.
A second crane was called in to stabilize the first crane and move the barge back where it belonged. The damaged boat, seen partially submerged under a section of barge, leaked fuel into the harbor, fire officials said.
A hazmat team was working to remediate the problem. People living on boats in the area said they had heard and felt the crash.
"Somebody's lost their boat and that's a heartache for somebody and I feel badly for them," Betty O’Connor said.
Four People Hospitalized After Boat Erupts in Flames
11/1/24 – Long Beach, CA
Four people were hospitalized after a boat fire near the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, on the evening of 1 November.
Firefighters were dispatched around 7:10 p.m. regarding an approximately 30-foot boat fully engulfed in flames in the 700 block of Long Beach’s Queensway Drive, between Hotel Maya and the Queen Mary, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.
There was a total of seven victims; they were spotted floating in a dinghy nearby. Four of them were taken to a hospital in unknown condition.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze around 8:15 p.m., and the boat was later taken to Long Beach Fire Station 21. It was unclear what had caused the fire.
Florida Dive Team Recovers Body of Missing Boater
10/31/24 – Walton Co., FL
The Sheriff’s Office Dive Team in Walton County, Florida, with the assistance of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC), recovered the body of a man who went missing after reportedly jumping off a boat. The man’s family was notified.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and South Walton Fire District (SWFD) had launched a search for the man who allegedly jumped off a boat on 31 October and failed to resurface. Walton County Sheriff’s Office said they received a phone call around 4:30 p.m., reporting that witnesses had seen a man jump off a boat near the S. 331 bridge in Freeport, on Florida’s Choctawhatchee Bay.
According to the WCSO, “The boater made several passes under the bridge at a high rate of speed before jumping in the water, leaving the boat adrift.” WCSO said at the time that the boat had been secured.
The WCSO used a boat and personal watercraft to locate the man, while SWFD deployed personnel, personal watercraft, and a drone.
Coast Guard Congratulates Bayfield Station on Rescue
10/23/24 – Iron Co., WI
In a post on X, the US Coast Guard’s Great Lakes account sent a “Bravo Zulu” message of congratulations to the Coast Guard Station Bayfield, in Wisconsin, for the rescue of a 16-foot boat in “deteriorating weather conditions.”
The 23 October post on X declared “BZ (Bravo Zulu – congratulations) to #USCG STA Bayfield, after report received of a disabled 16' P/C with one POB (person on board) IVO (in the vicinity of) #SaxonHarbor #Wisconsin yesterday at 4:36 p.m.”
“Distress phase entered due to poor comms via cell,” the post continued, “and deteriorating weather conditions. STA crew arrived O/S (on scene) and towed to Saxon Harbor.”
Boat Goes Up in Flames on Des Plaines River
10/30/24 – Channahon, IL
A 23-foot boat went up in flames on the Des Plaines River near Channahon, Illinois, on 30 October.
According to local news reports, firefighters declared that they intended to leave the boat adrift and let it burn itself out. Firefighters said that at some point the 23-foot vessel was either going to sink or the fire would extinguish itself.
Two Rescued After Sailboat Runs Aground
10/31/24 – Jefferson Co., NY
Two people had to be rescued from a sailboat that got stuck in upstate New York’s Black River Bay on the afternoon of 31 October.
The Sheriff’s Office of Jefferson County, New York, said the vessel ran aground on a shoal in the bay between the towns of Hounsfield and Brownville.
The sheriff’s office launched a patrol boat from the Sackets Harbor Madison Barracks boat launch and responded to the area of the sailboat. However, officials explained that deputies had been unable to get close enough to the sailboat to rescue the people on board.
The Watertown Fire Department was then called in, and firefighters used Zodiac rescue boats to remove the passengers and transfer them to the deputies' boat. The passengers, identified as Kelly Sackheim of Philadelphia and Robert South of Watertown, were brought safely to shore.
The sheriff’s office said arrangements to free the sailboat would be made later.
Boater Injured in Virginia River Crash
11/9/24 – Suffolk, VA
A person was thrown from a boat after the vessel collided with an object in the Nansemond River early on 9 November, declared medics in Suffolk, Virginia.
Two others aboard were not injured. According to a Facebook post from Suffolk Fire & Rescue, three boaters were on a 19-foot Carolina skiff in the water off Riverside Drive around 1:20 a.m., when the boat struck an "object in the water."
One of the boaters was thrown into the water as a result of the impact, but medics said the two others aboard were able to pull them back onto the boat. Suffolk Fire & Rescue then pulled the damaged boat to Decoy's in Bennett's Creek.
Firefighters said one person was moderately injured and taken to the hospital, while the two others had refused transportation.
One Dead, 2 Airlifted after Crash in Florida’s Card Sound
11/9/24 – Miami, FL
One person was killed and two were rushed by air to Florida’s Jackson South Medical Center after a boat crash in Card Sound on the morning of 9 November, according to first responders.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported that the crash had involved a 34-foot Nor-Tech. It took place just two days after a boat crash off nearby Key West, which left one person dead and four others injured.
An FWC spokesperson said it appeared the boat “was traveling south when a sudden turn ejected all three occupants.” A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesperson said Air Rescue crews “conducted a hoist operation with a Stokes basket to rescue two patients” from the water.
“Divers were deployed to the water to search for a third patient, (who) has been found,” the spokesperson added. That person died, an FWC official confirmed to local news. Authorities had not identified anyone involved, although they said that the boaters were not from the area.