A 38-foot fishing boat sank after colliding with a pilot boat on the James River in Virginia on Tuesday morning.
The Coast Guard says it received a call at 7:50 that the pilot boat, Swift, and the deadrise fishing boat, Miss Heather, had collided near the Newport News Small Boat Harbor and the Newport News Channel. The pilot boat rescued the two fishermen on the Miss Heather and took them to shore as their boat started to sink. The Miss Heather was a veteran working boat that was well-known in the area.
The Coast Guard sent a 45-foot response boat from Portsmouth, and the Newport News Fire Department also sent a boat to the scene after they received word of the collision. The fire fighters marked the area with a red buoy as the Miss Heather started to break up and drift. The Coast Guard is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to remove what’s left of the boat.
The Coast Guard boat from Portsmouth escorted the pilot boat back to the harbor. Emergency medical services personnel were waiting for the two fishermen there. But no injuries were reported.
There is no word yet about what caused the collision. The Coast Guard is investigating. Read more: https://coastguardnews.com/boat-collision-in-james-river/
