SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
When I arrived home this evening I found several E-Mails pointing me to the news story I'm about to post here. It is a tragedy because of the dead, but then again it is a tragedy of their own making.
At least 10 immigrants dead off Boynton Inlet; Coast Guard recovers 24; search continues
By JASON SCHULTZ and MICHAEL LaFORGIA
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
RIVIERA BEACH — The death toll from a capsized boat of immigrants off Palm Beach County reached 10 this evening, but rescuers said at least 17 survived and they vowed to continue searching through the night.
A child's body covered in a brown tarp numbered among the dead.
At least one man made it to shore near Delray Beach from the boat believed to be carrying Haitians and Bahamians. Coast Guard Petty Officer Colin Ryan said reports from people on the boat differ, but some put the number of people onboard as high as 30, so rescue and recovery units will keep looking, he said.
Chief Warrant Officer James Mullinax said a doctor was flown from Opa Locka onto the Coast Guard cutter to care for the recovered victims, who were suffering from exposure and dehydration.
"The seas were not overwhelming, but the search conditions were not optimal," Mullinax said.
About 12:40 p.m., a boater cruising 15 miles off shore spotted two of the immigrants, floating between the Palm Beach and Boynton inlets. The boater pulled the immigrants on board and called the Coast Guard, officials said.
Authorities believe the boat sank about 2 a.m.
The Coast Guard cutter Cormorant and at least two small boats searched for survivors. Federal officials ordered planes and helicopters to keep 3 nautical miles away and at least 1,000 feet above the Coast Guard ships as they worked.
"There was no sign of the boat," Petty Officer Colin Ryan. "We don't know what size the boat was."
Earlier today, a Coast Guard helicopter flew two young women to Delray Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Shelly Weiss. One was in critical condition and the second was in good condition, Weiss said.
The Coast Guard flew a third survivor to Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Gardi. That person was still alive this afternoon, Gardi said.
About 4:20 p.m., two boats pulled in to the Coast Guard's station in Riviera Beach. Rescue workers unloaded a woman and a man, both of whom were conscious and moving. The woman, who officials said was pregnant, looked in her 30s and wore a blue dress. The man, who apparently suffered from appendicitis, looked in his early 20s and wore a gray T-shirt.
About 4:40 p.m., survivors started trickling in by ambulance to St. Mary's Medical Center. The hospital treated a total of three people, said spokeswoman Julia Smith.
At 7:55 p.m., a Riviera Beach Fire Rescue ambulance followed by a Customs van pulled into the emergency room entrance at St. Mary's Medical Center. A man wearing a black shirt appeared alert as he was wheeled into the emergency room on a gurney.
At its station in Riviera Beach, the Coast Guard processed survivors who didn't need hospitalization. Medical workers treated the walking wounded and immigration officials stood by.
The Medical Examiner, meanwhile, set up its portable morgue to take in the dead at Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach.
As the rescue operation took shape, a Coast Guard flight surgeon was flown by helicopter to the 87-foot cutter, where he directed triage as the survivors were brought aboard, said Bosun's Mate 1st Class Tom Sims.
About 5 p.m., a 41-foot Coast Guard ship set out for the cutter to pick up more wounded survivors and carry them back to shore. Riviera Beach Fire-Rescue workers were aboard the ship to help, officials said.
As rescue workers searched the ocean, an unprecedented rescue effort unfolded on land. It included more than 45 fire and paramedic trucks from Palm Beach County, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and a private county contractor. Most of those emergency workers ultimately weren't needed, and they were standing down by about 4:40 p.m., county fire-rescue officials said
About 1:30 p.m., the rescue workers swarmed the Boynton Inlet. About an hour later, the Coast Guard redirected them to Riviera Beach, prompting emergency workers to bemoan poor communication between agencies.
As the Coast Guard brought people to shore, local hospitals braced to treat more survivors.
"We are expecting more victims," said Weiss, the Delray Medical Center spokeswoman, but she added she didn't know how many or in what condition they'd arrive.
Terry Brabham, captain of a diving charter based in Boynton Beach, said he tried to help rescue workers but was turned away by authorities this afternoon.
"With that many people in the water, you never know what's going to happen," Brabham said.
The Coast Guard was investigating reports that the boat left for Florida from the Bahamas.
The Royal Bahamian Defence Force offered to aid in the rescue but was waved off because the survivors already were so close to the Florida coast, said Chief Petty Officer Mario Bain, from Nassau. Bain said his agency and local police in Bimini were trying to determine if the boat left from that island, which, along with Grand Bahama, is closest to the Florida coast.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force also was investigating, said Duty Officer Sgt. Alexander Bannister in Nassau. He said his agency so far hasn't verified the boat left Bimini or any other Bahamian port or even passed through Bahamian waters.
Fitton, the Coast Guard captain, said a helicopter will hover all night over the search area, which keeps expanding as it drifts north on the Gulf Stream. Fitton said the Coast Guard also redirected a 10-foot boat from the Bahamas to assist in the search tonight.
According to Coast Guard figures, 1,377 Haitian immigrants were apprehended since October, up from 972 during the same seven-month period last year.
Staff writers Bill DiPaolo, Willie Howard and Charles Elmore contributed to this story.
Cat
At least 10 immigrants dead off Boynton Inlet; Coast Guard recovers 24; search continues
By JASON SCHULTZ and MICHAEL LaFORGIA
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
RIVIERA BEACH — The death toll from a capsized boat of immigrants off Palm Beach County reached 10 this evening, but rescuers said at least 17 survived and they vowed to continue searching through the night.
A child's body covered in a brown tarp numbered among the dead.
At least one man made it to shore near Delray Beach from the boat believed to be carrying Haitians and Bahamians. Coast Guard Petty Officer Colin Ryan said reports from people on the boat differ, but some put the number of people onboard as high as 30, so rescue and recovery units will keep looking, he said.
Chief Warrant Officer James Mullinax said a doctor was flown from Opa Locka onto the Coast Guard cutter to care for the recovered victims, who were suffering from exposure and dehydration.
"The seas were not overwhelming, but the search conditions were not optimal," Mullinax said.
About 12:40 p.m., a boater cruising 15 miles off shore spotted two of the immigrants, floating between the Palm Beach and Boynton inlets. The boater pulled the immigrants on board and called the Coast Guard, officials said.
Authorities believe the boat sank about 2 a.m.
The Coast Guard cutter Cormorant and at least two small boats searched for survivors. Federal officials ordered planes and helicopters to keep 3 nautical miles away and at least 1,000 feet above the Coast Guard ships as they worked.
"There was no sign of the boat," Petty Officer Colin Ryan. "We don't know what size the boat was."
Earlier today, a Coast Guard helicopter flew two young women to Delray Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Shelly Weiss. One was in critical condition and the second was in good condition, Weiss said.
The Coast Guard flew a third survivor to Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Gardi. That person was still alive this afternoon, Gardi said.
About 4:20 p.m., two boats pulled in to the Coast Guard's station in Riviera Beach. Rescue workers unloaded a woman and a man, both of whom were conscious and moving. The woman, who officials said was pregnant, looked in her 30s and wore a blue dress. The man, who apparently suffered from appendicitis, looked in his early 20s and wore a gray T-shirt.
About 4:40 p.m., survivors started trickling in by ambulance to St. Mary's Medical Center. The hospital treated a total of three people, said spokeswoman Julia Smith.
At 7:55 p.m., a Riviera Beach Fire Rescue ambulance followed by a Customs van pulled into the emergency room entrance at St. Mary's Medical Center. A man wearing a black shirt appeared alert as he was wheeled into the emergency room on a gurney.
At its station in Riviera Beach, the Coast Guard processed survivors who didn't need hospitalization. Medical workers treated the walking wounded and immigration officials stood by.
The Medical Examiner, meanwhile, set up its portable morgue to take in the dead at Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach.
As the rescue operation took shape, a Coast Guard flight surgeon was flown by helicopter to the 87-foot cutter, where he directed triage as the survivors were brought aboard, said Bosun's Mate 1st Class Tom Sims.
About 5 p.m., a 41-foot Coast Guard ship set out for the cutter to pick up more wounded survivors and carry them back to shore. Riviera Beach Fire-Rescue workers were aboard the ship to help, officials said.
As rescue workers searched the ocean, an unprecedented rescue effort unfolded on land. It included more than 45 fire and paramedic trucks from Palm Beach County, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and a private county contractor. Most of those emergency workers ultimately weren't needed, and they were standing down by about 4:40 p.m., county fire-rescue officials said
About 1:30 p.m., the rescue workers swarmed the Boynton Inlet. About an hour later, the Coast Guard redirected them to Riviera Beach, prompting emergency workers to bemoan poor communication between agencies.
As the Coast Guard brought people to shore, local hospitals braced to treat more survivors.
"We are expecting more victims," said Weiss, the Delray Medical Center spokeswoman, but she added she didn't know how many or in what condition they'd arrive.
Terry Brabham, captain of a diving charter based in Boynton Beach, said he tried to help rescue workers but was turned away by authorities this afternoon.
"With that many people in the water, you never know what's going to happen," Brabham said.
The Coast Guard was investigating reports that the boat left for Florida from the Bahamas.
The Royal Bahamian Defence Force offered to aid in the rescue but was waved off because the survivors already were so close to the Florida coast, said Chief Petty Officer Mario Bain, from Nassau. Bain said his agency and local police in Bimini were trying to determine if the boat left from that island, which, along with Grand Bahama, is closest to the Florida coast.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force also was investigating, said Duty Officer Sgt. Alexander Bannister in Nassau. He said his agency so far hasn't verified the boat left Bimini or any other Bahamian port or even passed through Bahamian waters.
Fitton, the Coast Guard captain, said a helicopter will hover all night over the search area, which keeps expanding as it drifts north on the Gulf Stream. Fitton said the Coast Guard also redirected a 10-foot boat from the Bahamas to assist in the search tonight.
According to Coast Guard figures, 1,377 Haitian immigrants were apprehended since October, up from 972 during the same seven-month period last year.
Staff writers Bill DiPaolo, Willie Howard and Charles Elmore contributed to this story.
Cat
