Good Samaritans Rescue 7 From Sinking Boat Off Cape May
Follow CBSPHILLY Facebook | Twitter
CAPE MAY, N.J. (CBS) — A crew of good samaritans rescued boaters off the coast of Cape May, N.J. early Saturday morning.
A distress call came in at approximately 9 a.m. about a boat, called the Beach Runner, rapidly filling with water.
Seven people were aboard the sinking boat when the incident occurred approximately nine miles offshore.
'No Big Deal': Hero Neighbor Rescues Father, 2 Young Children From House Fire
The Coast Guard issues an "Urgent Marine Information Broadcast" (UMIB) to alert nearby boaters about the incident. They then launched a rescue vessel.
Two crews, from the Miss Addison and the Porgy IV, heard the UMIB and quickly responded to help the troubled boaters.
"Heard the mayday call of a boat taking on water and luckily we got there just as she went down," the crew stated on Facebook.
According to Mike O'Brien, a member of the crew for Miss Addison, they were about a mile and a half away from the sinking boat when the UMIB came in.
"It was sinking at a very fast rate. It started doing down stern first," O'Brien told Eyewitness news.
Photos show the bow of the boat just before it became entirely submerged.
The entire event, according to O'Brien', happened quite quickly with the boat disappearing beneath the water within two minutes.
"This is a perfect example of boaters and the maritime community doing the right thing in an emergency situation," said David Umberger, command duty officer at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay.
Both crews arrived at the scene of the sinking boat and communicated with the Coast Guard while they assisted the Beacher Runner.
Police: Oil Spill Forces Closure Of 3 Northbound Lanes On I-295
The seven people aboard the Beach Runner were, fortunately, wearing lifejackets when the boat sank.
"We threw out life rings, told them to stay calm, to stay together, and we just one-by-one got them to our boat and safely on board," O'Brien explained.
The crew of the Miss Addison boat took the stranded boaters aboard and safely brought them back to the shore of Cape May.
"It was a good team effort by everyone around," O'Brien stated proudly.
