Accidents of the Week - October 21, 2023
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Coast Guard Rescues Two After Yacht Sinks off South Carolina
10/13/23 – Georgetown, SC
Coast Guard rescuers saved two people from the water after their yacht sank off South Carolina on 13 October. The Coast Guard said the rescue happened near the Winyah Bay entrance, close to Georgetown.
The spouse of a mariner aboard the 44-foot vessel called the Answer My Friend placed a distress call that the yacht needed assistance. A good Samaritan at the scene found the vessel on a jetty partially submerged but could not find the mariners on board. A helicopter crew helped a Coast Guard vessel locate and recover the two people from the water, and they were treated for shock and hypothermia.
The yacht’s mast and sails could be seen sticking out of the water in a photo released by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard did not identify the mariners. It said the cause of the sinking was still under investigation on 14 October and that the owner of the vessel would coordinate salvage.
Body of Canoeist Recovered in Rock River
10/15/23 – Janesville, WI
A body was recovered during a water rescue on the night of 15 October on the Rock River in Janesville, Wisconsin, police confirmed on scene. The individual in question was riding a canoe with two other people. The two others were evaluated for injuries, police said, and the extent of their injuries was unknown.
An alert earlier on 15 October stated that Janesville police and firefighters had been dispatched to the scene of the rescue, beginning at the West Milwaukee Street Bridge. Dispatchers said they had received a call around 4:45 p.m., and the scene was cleared shortly before 7:30 p.m.
Maryland Marina Fire Extinguished by Firefighters
10/12/23 – Solomons Island, MD
Firefighters from Calvert and St. Mary’s County, Maryland, were dispatched to the Solomon’s Yachting Center, located at 255 Alexander Lane in Solomons Island, to respond to reports of a marina fire at approximately 4:06 p.m. on Thursday, 12 October.
Crews arrived on the scene to find smoke billowing from a 34-foot Cabin Cruiser boat, which was still on a travel lift. Firefighters found fire in the engine room which extended to the living area and other parts of the boat. Crews operated for an hour and 30 minutes before returning to service. No injuries were reported, and the scene and boat were turned over to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Two Dead, Two Missing in Southwest Alaska Boating Accidents
10/10/23 – Napakiak and Bethel, AK
Two people died on the Kuskokwim River and two others were missing after three unrelated boating incidents reported in Southwest Alaska since Saturday 7 October, Alaska State Troopers said.
A 44-year-old woman from Napakiak, Alaska, was found dead on 8 October after searchers found the boat she was on submerged in the Kuskokwim River. Troopers had been alerted in the afternoon that two people had not returned from what was supposed to be a three-hour trip on the Kuskokwim the day before, troopers’ spokesman Tim DeSpain said. The pair had left Napakiak and were headed for Tuntutuliak, roughly 40 air miles southwest of Bethel, he said. A village police officer found the boat submerged, troopers said.
Marcella Jimmie of Napakiak was found dead near the shore and a man who was with her was wet and hypothermic on the riverbank, they said. The State Medical Examiner’s Office was set to determine Jimmie’s cause of death.
On 10 October, a 26-year-old man from Tuluksak, Alaska, died when the boat he was on capsized in the Kuskokwim near Bethel, troopers said. He was in a group headed to Akiachak, DeSpain said. One person was rescued from the water by a good Samaritan but Brenton Napoka was found dead, according to DeSpain. Alexander Henry, 31, of Akiachak remained missing. It wasn’t immediately clear what had caused the boat to capsize, DeSpain said. None of the people in the boat were wearing life jackets, he said.
Troopers said search efforts continued for Henry as well as a woman from Togiak missing in Southwest Alaska in a third incident, after a Koliganek village public safety officer notified troopers that a swamped boat was found on the Nushagak River near Lewis Point.
Authorities later learned that 25-year-old Kelly Coopchiak of Togiak was thought to have been in the boat, according to troopers. Alaska State Parks and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel searched the area by plane and helicopter, troopers said.
Three Men, Dog Rescued from Black River after Boat Capsizes
10/8/2023
Three men and a dog were rescued from the Black River in the Town of Brownville, New York, after their boat capsized on the afternoon of 8 October. The incident occurred while the men and their dog were out hunting.
Brownville Fire Chief Ryan McIntosh said it was unclear how the boat had crashed, but that high winds may have played a factor. The group was able to make it onto a rock to wait for first responders to bring in a boat and safely take them to shore.
Man’s Body Recovered from Kansas Lake After Falling Overboard
10/8/23 - Russell County, KS
The body of a man was recovered from Wilson Lake, Kansas, on the morning of 12 October, members of the Russell County Sheriff’s Office said. Officials identified the man as 58-year-old Michael Wayne Larson of Salina, Kansas, who was reported missing on 8 October after falling out of a boat. The Russell County Sheriff said that Game Wardens for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks would carry out a fatal boat accident investigation.
A woman had initially called 911 at around 4:04 p.m. on 8 October to report what had happened. Dispatchers learned that the man and woman had been boating on the west end of the lake when the man fell out of the boat and possibly struck his head on the boat as he fell.
Emergency crews from the Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, US Army Corps of Engineers, Russell County EMS and multiple rural fire agencies responded to the call.
Boat Destroyed in Florida Marina Fire
10/9/23 - Crystal River, FL
A boat caught fire on the night of 9 October on the east side of Pete's Pier Marina in Crystal River, Florida. The Crystal River Fire Department responded to the fire at about 8:45 p.m. and witnesses said they had the blaze under control quickly.
Crystal River Fire Chief Calvin Adams said on 10 October that the boat was totaled by the fire, with damage estimated at around $200,000. Fortunately, no other boats were reported damaged and there was very little surrounding damage from the fire. Adams said that the State Fire Marshal's Office was investigating the cause of the blaze.
Missing Boater Found Stranded in Marsh, Airlifted to Safety
10/12/23 – Dorchester Co., MD
A boater stranded in the marshes of Dorchester County, Maryland, had to be airlifted by a state police helicopter in the early hours of the morning on 13 October.
Dorchester County Fire and EMS launched a search for the 22-year-old man and his boat on 12 October, with the search going well into the night. Just after midnight, county rescue crews had exhausted their search efforts and called upon Maryland State Police Aviation to help. State Police Trooper 7, a helicopter based at St. Mary’s Airport in California, Maryland, responded to search for the boater. They found him a short time later, having run aground in a marshy area in his boat.
The marshy conditions made him inaccessible to rescue crews by foot or by boat, and by 1:20 a.m. a second Maryland State Police helicopter was dispatched to hoist him out of the marsh. Trooper 2 arrived from Joint Base St. Andrews, hovering 50 feet above the marsh while a trooper/paramedic was lowered down to the stranded boater. Using an airlift rescue vest, the man was hoisted together with the trooper/paramedic back into the helicopter. Dorchester County EMS met Trooper 2 at a landing zone where paramedics could check the victim out. State police say he did not require treatment or transport to the hospital.