9 rescued after charter boat sinks off Ewa Beach
COURTESY COAST GUARD
The charter fishing vessel Wild Bunch was last seen submerged and drifting after its crew and passengers were rescued from the sinking vessel today off Ewa Beach.
COURTESY COAST GUARD
The crew of a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium responds to a sinking charter boat off Ewa Beach today.
The Coast Guard is warning mariners to keep a lookout to avoid a collision after a charter fishing boat sank today off Ewa Beach.
The crew of the 41-foot boat Wild Bunch called the Coast Guard for help at about 2:15 p.m. today when the boat began taking on water with three crew members and six passengers on board, the Coast Guard said.
Two good Samaritan vessels, the Strikeology and Maggie Joe, responded to the distress call and evacuated the six passengers from the Wild Bunch.
The crew stayed on board, trying to remove the water from the vessel.
A Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium arrived about 30 minutes later and passed the crew a portable dewatering pump, but the pump could not keep up with the flooding and the crew evacuated to the Coast Guard vessel. They were brought back to Sand Island. No injuries were reported.
The Coast Guard said the Wild Bunch was last seen submerged and drifting. The cause of the boat’s sinking is under investigation.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
The maximum potential pollution is 250 gallons of diesel fuel, 32 quarts of oil, and two marine batteries, the Coast Guard said.
The owner of the vessel has hired a salvage company to retrieve it.
