Connecticut woman died in a parasailing accident in Florida

A Connecticut woman died in a parasailing accident in Florida Wednesday when she fell about 200 feet into the ocean, authorities said.

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Stephen Miskell and his wife, Kathleen Miskell, 28. She died after falling 200 feet in a parasailing accident off Pompano Beach, Florida.

Kathleen Miskell, 28, was tandem parasailing with her husband offshore in Pompano Beach, Fla., when her harness broke Wednesday afternoon and she fell into the water, city spokeswoman Sandra King said in a statement.
“She fell between 150 and 200 feet face-down into the ocean, and that’s like hitting a brick wall, and the husband unfortunately had to witness it,” Pompano Beach Mayor Lamar Fisher told NBCMiami.com.

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Miskell’s husband, Stephen Miskell, was not hurt, and the boat’s operator reeled him in after Kathleen fell. They found Kathleen face-down in the water and pulled her into the boat too.
They started CPR, called 911 and brought Miskell to the Hillsboro Inlet. Miskell was in cardiac arrest as Pompano Beach Fire-Rescue continued CPR and administered “advanced life support,” according to King.

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An oil tanker collided with a U.S. Navy destroyer near the Strait of Hormuz

An oil tanker collided with a U.S. Navy destroyer near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday but no one was hurt and shipping traffic in the waterway, through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports pass, was not affected, officials said.
"Both vessels are okay and the Strait of Hormuz is not closed, and business is as usual there," an Oman coast guard official told Reuters, declining to be named under briefing rules.
The collision nevertheless left a gaping hole in the starboard side of USS Porter, a guided-missile destroyer suffered, but no one was injured on either vessel, the U.S. Navy said in a statement. The collision with the Panamanian-flagged bulk oil tanker M/V Otowasan occurred at approximately 1 a.m. local time.

Witnesses say small boat crashed into riverboat

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A boating accident took place on the St. Johns River in downtown late Saturday night.

According to witnesses who were on the Annabelle Lee river boat, a small leisure boat came up from behind the river boat, hit a dock, and then hit the river boat.

Brooke Kantack was on the river boat and said the crash took place on the river near Metro Park.

"Two people fell out and three people were left on, but one got out and tried to swim to the fellow victims," Kantack recalled.

Kantack said at least one woman from the smaller boat was plucked from the water and pulled onto the river boat. Kantack said she heard the woman say her leg was in pain.

Kantack said she believed the smaller craft was speeding because it passed the river boat so quickly.

Police were on the scene investigating.

Witnesses said no one on the river boat was hurt.

A Packed Boat, a Celebration, a Deadly Turn

The sky over Long Island Sound, ignited moments earlier by an extravagant Fourth of July fireworks display, was suddenly bright again: a signal flare illuminated a marine disaster unfolding among the boats leaving the show.

Former astronaut Alan "Dex" Poindexter, 50, a space shuttle commander who flew twice into space, died Sunday after being injured in a water sports accident in Florida.
"The NASA family was sad to learn of the passing of our former friend, and colleague Alan Poindexter who was killed today during a jet ski accident in Florida," NASA wrote on Facebook late Sunday. "Our thought and hearts are with his family."
According to local media reports citing the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Poindexter was jet skiing with his two sons near Little Sabine Bay off of Pensacola Beach, Fla., when the accident occurred.
"Poindexter and his 21-year-old son were on one jet ski and his oldest son was on another jet ski. Poindexter was sitting still in the water when his [older] son's jet ski came barreling into him," the local ABC affiliate WEAR reported, citing the FWC, which investigates boating accidents.
Poindexter was rushed to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, where he later died from his injuries.

Liner Captain Is Questioned in Capsizing Off Italy Coast

Filippo Monteforte/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Rescuers found three people on Sunday on the Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the coast of Giglio, Italy. More Photos »

By GAIA PIANIGIANI and SARAH MASLIN NIR

Published: January 15, 2012

GIGLIO, Italy — The captain of the cruise ship that capsized aground near an Italian island, killing at least five people, may have caused the accident by taking the ship too close to the island’s rocky shore, the owner of the vessel said on Sunday, as rescue workers extracted three survivors and two bodies from the wreck.

Investigation shows boater inexperience, speed cause of fatal boating accident

3:26 p.m. EST, June 11, 2012

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigation into one of two deadly March boating accidents in Tavares determined that inexperience and the boater's speed was what caused one boater to die, according to a newly released report.
Mark Van Winkle, 53, of Stuart died after being ejected from his boat and was struck by a passing vessel on March 17 during an exhibition on Lake Dora. The event was part of the Classic Raceboat Association's annual Spring Thunder Regatta. Van Winkle's boat hit the water wrong and he was thrown from the vessel, the report said. He was struck just seconds later and died instantly.

8-year-old Pennsylvania girl killed in Putnam boating accident

An 8-year-old at a family reunion in Putnam County was killed Friday when the boat she was in lurched under a dock while she was sitting in a seat in the front of the boat. At the end of a St. Johns River boat ride around 6 p.m., the driver missed an attempt to maneuver onto a boat lift then on a second approach the 23-foot bowrider lurched ahead and under the dock. Olivia Wade, of Springdale, PA, was sitting in the seat and hit the dock. She was taken to Putnam Community Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. The accident happened in the 400 block of West River Road north of Palatka. Among six at the reunion, three were from Pennsylvania and three were from Jacksonville, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Federation. Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-03-25/story/8-year-old-pennsylvania-girl-killed-putnam-boating-accident#ixzz1qAT302H6