2 dead after sailboat and barge collide off Miami Beach, authorities say
Two people were killed and four others were injured on July 28 after a barge struck a sailing boat carrying a youth club off Miami Beach, Florida, authorities said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said its officers, along with federal and local law enforcement agencies, responded to a two-vessel boating accident in Miami-Dade County. Preliminary information indicates that a “barge struck a sailing vessel carrying six people” near Star Island, a man-made island in Biscayne Bay, according to the commission.
All six people on the sailing boat, including one woman and five children, were recovered from the water and transported to a local hospital for treatment, the commission said. Two were later pronounced dead at the hospital.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to the families affected by this heartbreaking loss," the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement. "Our thoughts remain with them during this profoundly difficult time."
The Miami Yacht Club confirmed that the incident involved youth participants of the Miami Youth Sailing Foundation. The foundation was holding a summer camp, according to the yacht club's website.
"At this time, details are still emerging, and we are actively gathering all available facts," the yacht club said in a statement on social media. "Our priority is the safety and well-being of everyone involved, and we are working closely with the appropriate authorities and organizations to understand the situation fully."
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard are leading the investigation, which remains ongoing.
2 victims remain in critical condition
Emergency personnel received reports at around 11:14 a.m. of a submerged vessel with missing occupants near Hibiscus Island in Biscayne Bay, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said in a statement to Paste BN. The agency said it assisted the Miami Fire-Rescue Department in locating the missing occupants and divers were deployed in the search.
In a statement on social media, the Miami Beach Police Department said there was a "multi-agency critical incident" involving a capsized vessel and multiple victims between Monument Island and Hibiscus Island. The police department reported that all victims had been accounted for.
The Coast Guard said it received an initial report at about 11:30 a.m. from the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue that there had been a collision between a sailboat and a barge, throwing all six occupants into the water. After the group was rescued from the water, the Coast Guard said four victims were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
"Two of them were declared deceased, two of them remain in critical condition, and two didn't receive any medical treatment — it was unnecessary," the Coast Guard told Paste BN.