Nearly 30 injured as Miami tour boat collides with another vessel
An accident near the Port of Miami has left 29 people injured, and over a dozen hospitalised, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.
The crash happened around 3:15pm on Sunday afternoon (11 February 2024) at the area known as Fisherman’s Cut, when two boats collided in the busy bay. Local media have confirmed one of the boats was the Thriller Speedboat (pictured above), which carries sightseers around the bay at speeds of 40mph.
According to the vessel’s website, the tour provides ‘the ultimate sightseeing experience’ at high speeds.
The cause of the Miami boat crash remains unexplained for now, and the US Coast Guard says it has launched an investigation.
Images and videos from the scene show many people being stretchered and airlifted to safety.
“There were other people inside the boat – it was a tour boat, from Bayside,” Horacio Rodriguez, the division chief of MDFR, tells 7 News Miami. “The patients who had no complaints were taken back to Bayside,” he continues, revealing that paramedics transported a total of 13 patients to an area hospital.
In total, over 30 units responded to the incident, including air rescue, fireboats and vessels from the US Coast Guard and the Florida Wildlife Commission. No update has been given on those injured, but there have been no reported casualties.
The other boat involved in the collision has been identified by officials as a private one, but it has yet to be identified. It is currently not known if those aboard were also injured.
BREAKING NEWS – Thirteen people were injured in a boat crash that occurred on Sunday afternoon in waters near Port Miami. https://t.co/nw0N2XLKhM
— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) February 11, 2024
In the UK, an unrelated accident also occurred involving a tour boat. The Seadogz accident in 2020 resulted in several serious injuries and the tragic death of 15-year-old passenger Emily Lewis during a high-speed thrill ride on the UK south coast.
On the morning of 22 August 2020, the commercially operated rigid inflatable boat (RIB) Seadogz crashed into a 4.5m high, 5-ton channel marker in Southampton Water.
An MAIB report found ‘significant limitations’ in crash protection; seat design; forward visibility and safety management system requirements aboard Seadogz.
Main image courtesy of Thriller Miami.
