Thursday, January 03, 2013

Three rescued from boat in St. Johns County

ST. JOHNS COUNTY. Fla. -- St. Johns County Fire Rescue saved three people after a boating accident Tuesday afternoon.
Fire officials say the accident happened around 3:30 p.m. on the shoals just north of the Matanzas inlet.
St. Johns County responded and found an approximately 16-foot fishing boat unmanned in the surf, and a second fishing boat helping two people from the water and one from the sandbar.
According to a news release, one of the victims was having a heart attack and a paramedic/rescue swimmer performed CPR. That patient was taken to Flagler Hospital in critical condition. The boat was later towed and secured by SJCFR marine rescue to a dock at Fort Matanzas.
No one else was injured and all three were wearing personal floation devices, according to SJCFR.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is investigating the incident.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

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.

NBC Miami
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.
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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Sunday, August 12, 2012

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.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

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.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Monday, July 02, 2012

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.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

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 »

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.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

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

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Girl critically injured in boating accident

TAMPA, Fla. - An 11-year-old girl is in critical condition after a boating accident in North Tampa. Florida Fish and Wildlife officials say the girl was tubing when she was struck by a propeller while climbing onto a boat on Lake Taray. The accident happened behind her home in the Avila community. She was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital. Her name has not been released. The FWC is investigating the accident. Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/girl-criticially-injured-in-boating-accident#ixzz1be2qoutr

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Boating Accident Victim in Downtown Jacksonville was Fishing, Still Critical

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The man who was critically injured in a boating accident on the St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville was fishing. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), 66-year-old Jacksonville resident Rodney M. Abernethy was anchored east of the center span of the north side of the Fuller Warren Bridge at 5 p.m. Monday in a 17-foot boat. The FWC said the tide at that time was outgoing and very strong, and that the anchor line fouled the propeller. That in turn caused the stern of the boat to face the outgoing tide, which allowed water to pour in, sinking the boat. Abernethy was caught in the current.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Boy struck by propeller / Jacksonville Beach

A 6-year-old boy who apparently fell under a boat and was struck by its propeller at the Jacksonville Beach city boat ramp was hospitalized this evening with back lacerations, authorities said. The juvenile, whose name was not immediately available, is not thought to have life-threatening injuries, said Sgt. Tom Bingham of the Jacksonville Beach Police Department. Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-08-17/story/boy-struck-boat-propeller-jacksonville-beach-hospitalized#ixzz1VQESdlT0

Thursday, July 14, 2011

NTSB Rips Coast Guard over Boy's Boating Accident Death

The National Transportation Safety Board has called out the U.S. Coast Guard for lax oversight leading up to the 2009 San Diego patrol boat crash that killed 8-year-old Anthony DeWeese. The federal board concluded that the Coast Guard boat pilot was going far too fast — as fast as 42 knots — for the crowded conditions on San Diego Bay that night, and no one was holding him in check. The NTSB discussed its findings at a meeting Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C. A summary written report was released later in the day, and the full report will be published in coming weeks, officials said.

Monday, July 11, 2011

128 feared dead in Russian river boat accident / children lost

"Practically no children made it out. There were many children on the boat, very many," survivor Natalya Makarova said on state television. She said she had lost her grip on her daughter as they struggled to escape. "We were all buried alive in the boat like in a metal coffin," Makarova said, who escaped through a window. "I practically crawled up from the bottom. My 10-year-old child was with me, I held onto her as long as possible ... I couldn't hold on." Sania Zakirova waited on the shore at Syukeyevo for news of her missing grandson and pregnant daughter-in-law.