A group of four fishermen were rescued alive from waters off the barrier island of Virginia Key in Miami overnight after their boat capsized.
The men went fishing Thursday and were headed back when strong waves battered their boat, capsizing it. The group, wearing life jackets, attempted to swim together to shore but were separated by waves. One of the men, Alexis Jorge, told WSVN-TV he called 911.
One of the rescued men said he swam for about two hours to get help.
“I found one gentleman with Miami-Dade Police. … He helped me a lot. He called the helicopters right away,” Ray Duran told WSVN-TV.
A call went out to nearby agencies to come to the aid of the capsized boat at around 11:30 p.m., said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department rescuer Nicholas DiGiacomo.
In addition to Mr. Duran’s swim to the shore, Mr. Jorge was found after about 40 minutes in the water. That left two others still missing.
The remaining fishermen were found at around 1:30 a.m. Friday.
“Fast Response heard people yelling in the water. Thankfully, they were wearing life vests at the time, and we came over and picked them up.” Mr. DiGiacomo told WFOR-TV.
One of the latter pair rescued, Mr. Duran’s relative Froilan Duran, told the news outlet that he did not want to abandon his friend and stayed with him. He added that they had been in the water for about three hours when they were rescued.
The incident is now being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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