A good Samaritan boat and the Coast Guard rescued five people recently from a sinking sportfishing boat about 13 miles northwest of Cat Cay in the Bahamas. All five were taken to Cat Cay but the boat, La Bella, sank.
The incident started when the Coast Guard in Miami received a Mayday call over Channel 16 from La Bella, saying it was taking on water and had five people on board. The Coast Guard broadcast an urgent message to all boats about La Bella and diverted the Cutter Robert Yered to the scene.
Another vessel, Troy, heard the message and arrived at La Bella before the cutter. Troy removed three people from La Bella; two others wanted to stay on board, hoping they could get the boat back to Cat Cay. As the cutter arrived, La Bella started to sink. The cutter sent a small boat over to take the other two people off La Bella. No one was injured in the incident. Read more:
