June 19 (UPI) — Two people died and 10 others were rescued from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean after two boats collided near Key Biscayne, Fla., the Coast Guard said Saturday.
All 10 survivors were rescued by small boat crews and a helicopter aircrew dispatched by Coast Guard units in Miami late on Friday, officials said.
One of the bodies was recovered the Guard and the other was recovered about a mile west of Key Biscayne by a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crew, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Two critically injured survivors were plucked from the water by a Coast Guard swimmer. One of them was transported to Jackson Memorial Medical Center in Miami by rescue crews while all nine other survivors were taken to HCA Florida Mercy Hospital.
The accident was initially reported to the Guard by one of the people involved in the collision at around 10:30 p.m.
“On behalf of the Coast Guard and our partner agencies, we’d like to offer our sincerest condolences to the families and friends who lost their loved ones,” said Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin Tuxhorn, who coordinated the search and rescue mission. “The Coast Guard and our local partner agencies quickly responded and exhaustively worked together on this search and rescue case.”
The crash is being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
