Sept. 5 (UPI) — Nearly a dozen people were injured, and one teenager is reported dead, after a boat crashed into a pole and capsized in the Upper Florida Keys Sunday, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
Rescuers said the 28-foot Robalo was carrying 14 people, including 12 minors, when it collided with a channel marker and capsized around 6:30 p.m. EDT. Four people had to be airlifted from the water near Boca Chita, an island in the northern Florida keys inside Biscayne National Park.
“Police arrived first and pulled the people out of the water,” said MDFR Captain Juan Garrandes. “Some that were critical were taken to Elliot Key Island where rescue landed and transported some critical patients before we got there.”
Family members gathered Sunday night at Black Point Marina where they waited for rescue boats to return.
Rescuers originally reported 11 people were injured, including six who suffered minor injuries.
The boat was carrying students from Our Lady of Lourdes School and Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, according to Mary Ross Agosta, director of communications of Archdiocese of Miami. 7News confirmed on Monday that one person, a 17-year-old girl from Our Lady Lourdes, has died from her injuries.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the crash.
