Two people were killed, and 10 others rescued, after two boats collided near Key Biscayne, Fla. The U.S. Coast Guard said that all 10 survivors were rescued by small boat crews and a helicopter aircrew dispatched by Coast Guard units in Miami. The accident was initially reported to the Coast Guard by one of the people involved in the collision at around 10:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that one of the bodies was recovered by the Coast Guard, and the other was recovered about a mile west of Key Biscayne by a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crew. 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 crash is being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin Tuxhorn, who coordinated the search and rescue mission, said in a statement: "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. The Coast Guard and our local partner agencies quickly responded and exhaustively worked together on this search and rescue case."
Editorial credit: Fotoluminate LLC / Shutterstock.com