Three teenagers who were fishing on Long Island Sound just rescued five older men (including three who couldn’t swim) after their boat took on water and turned over.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said the men were fishing off Six-Mile Reef near Clinton and Westbrook, when they saw water inside the back of the boat. It flooded the batteries, and they couldn’t start the engine.
As more and more water poured in, they put on life jackets and sent out a distress call on Channel 16.
As it turned out, the three teenagers were nearby and heard the call. Evan Kamoen, 18, of Killingworth, was also out fishing, with his friends Luke Voegeli, 17, from Guilford, and Ryan Kelly, 18, from Pawcatuck. They could see the boat and as they headed over, it suddenly turned over.
The five men were all between the ages of 72 and 80. Two were clinging to the overturned boat, two were floating nearby, and one initially was trapped under the boat but managed to get free.
Kamoen turned off the motor and the three teens scooped four of the older men out of the water. Another Good Samaritan boat picked up the fifth man. The two boats took the men to shore; they had only minor injuries.
DEEP said the five men did not want to be identified, but one of them said the three teens were “lifesavers.” For his part, Kamoen said they were at the right place at the right time and they were “just a couple of teenagers; that’s all we are.”
