2 dead, 10 injured after boat crash near Key Biscayne

Key Biscayne, Florida – A deadly collision between two boats off Key Biscayne on Friday night left two people dead and 10 more hurt.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the two boats, described by fire officials as roughly 21 and 30-foot vessels, and collided at around 10:30 p.m. in an area near the Nixon Beach Sandbar, one mile west of Key Biscayne.

Seven people were on one boat, five on the other.

According to the Coast Guard, a survivor notified Coast Guard Sector Miami watchstanders of the incident.

Xavier Ruiz, also on the water at the time said “Some people (were) screaming in English, in Spanish, asking for help, there were seven”.

“They were saying that they couldn’t swim and asking for help.”

According to Ruiz, he called 911 after he moved his boat closer to the crash. “We saw a lady holding an infant and then we saw a girl who couldn’t swim so we threw some life jackets,” he said. “There was also a body, a body floating.”

In total, crews took 10 people to nearby hospitals: six victims were taken to Mercy Hospital, and the other four were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Two of those four were critically hurt and rushed to Ryder Trauma Center by ground and by air.

The man who was airlifted died at the hospital.

Multiple fire rescue departments and the Coast Guard worked to find the 12th victim, a man. They searched for hours before switching to a recovery mission, later finding his body swept away from the scene.

At this time, none of the victims have been publicly identified.