The owners of a sailboat and barge that collided in Biscayne Bay on Monday, killing two young girls and critically injuring two other girls, are working with commercial salvage to draft a plan to have both vessels removed, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The crash occurred around 11:15 a.m. between Hibiscus Island and Monument Island, authorities said. Six people, five girls and one adult camp counselor, were aboard the sailboat when it was struck. The sailboat was dragged under the barge which had a crane on top and what appeared to be pilings for a dock.
Miami Beach Fire Rescue crews were first on scene, they were later joined by rescue crews from Miami, Miami-Dade, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Coast Guard. Working together they recovered all six people.
The Coast Guard said a 7-year-old and a 13-year-old girl died at Jackson Memorial Hospital, while an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old girl remain in critical condition.
The others, a 12-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman, were evaluated by emergency medical technicians and did not require hospitalization.
Witnesses: “All the kids went flying off”
The children were part of a summer sailing camp operated by the Miami Yacht Club and affiliated with the Miami Youth Sailing Foundation. This was the final week of camp.
CBS News Miami spoke with several of them who witnessed the crash. The said said everyone on the sailboat was wearing life jackets.
Enzo Pifer Eddy, 9, described the barge hitting the boat.
“There was a massive boat and it hit one of the small sailboats. All of the kids went flying off. Two were found quickly and three had to go to the hospital,” he said.
Another 8-year-old, who asked not to be identified, saw the crash while sailing nearby on what she called a “Wave Sailboat.”
“The crane just completely destroyed the boat. The boat just went under. I heard one girl yell ‘Help’ from under the crane and two girls jumped off the wave and the crane barely missed them,” she said.
“It was super sad and super scary, I’m just glad I wasn’t on the boat, but I felt so sorry for them,” she added.
The Miami Yacht Club is known for its friendly, unpretentious spirit. Membership is open to the public and they put an emphasis on introducing inner-city kids to the bay. In a statement, the club said, “The entire MYC family is devastated by this terrible tragedy.”
Coast Guard leads crash investigation
Investigators said the sailboat is still submerged under the barge. The Coast Guard has set up a 250-yard safety zone around it to keep other vessels away.
“Our hearts are with the families of those lost and all who have been affected by this tragedy,” Capt. Frank Florio, Commander of Coast Guard Sector Miami, said in a statement. “Incidents like this leave a lasting impact on our maritime community and reinforce the importance of learning from every loss. The Coast Guard will conduct a thorough investigation to determine the causal factors and identify steps to help prevent similar tragedies in the future.”
Mauricio Maldonado
contributed to this report.
