They were almost in the deep boat!
Passengers on a luxury superyacht capsized and sank in the Chesapeake Bay near Washington, DC, prompting a dramatic rescue operation after they were forced to jump into the water, authorities said.
Police and witnesses said the 122-foot-long vessel, known as the Love Bug, began taking on water around 12:30 p.m. Saturday near Edgewater, Maryland. CBS Baltimore.
Shocking footage shows the $8 million superyacht, which was docked at the Annapolis Yacht Club and costs $125,000 to charter a week, lying on its side in waters near the mouth of the busy West River.
Trevor Hardman was in a nearby boat when he noticed the people on board were in a shipwreck.
“The boat slowly started to list and tilt to one side,” Hardman, who works for Boat Annapolis, told the station.
“I think within four or five minutes the ship was sinking and the captain decided he needed to abandon ship.”
After Hardenman radioed for help, all five unidentified people on board the yacht jumped into the water from the stern, police said.
They were all rescued to safety by emergency personnel and suffered no major injuries, the station reported.
Mr Hardman said the captain, whose identity has not been released, was confused as to what had caused the yacht to capsize, and Mr Hardman said he had spoken to the crew after it was pulled from the bay.
“At that point I thought, ‘Are you stranded?’ And he said, ‘No… you’re taking on water,'” Hardman said. “Boats this size have alarms that let you know if there’s water on board.”
Police are currently investigating the cause of the shipwreck.
“The biggest priority now is getting the boat salvaged and getting some clues as to what happened,” said Corporal Christopher Neville with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police.
Formerly called Anastasia M, the Italian-built yacht has jet ski storage, a small pool and enough space to accommodate 11 guests and seven crew members. Boat International.
After the vessel capsized, salvage crews set up a barrier around the yacht to prevent a possible fuel leak, but authorities said no fuel leak had been detected, CBS reported.
One of the yacht passengers complained of a headache after being rescued but refused to go to hospital.
“If everybody hadn’t stayed calm and been on the radio and making sure everybody was OK, it could have been a lot worse,” Hardenman said.
The marine service Towboats US also assisted in the rescue, he said.
