U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued four people and a dog from a boat that was taking on water just moments before the vessel capsized in New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay on Monday, officials said.
The crew from Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light discovered the boaters aboard the sinking 30-foot recreational boat near the Forked River, the Coast Guard said.
The four boaters and dog were safely brought onto the Coast Guard’s boat just before the recreational vessel capsized in the bay, according to officials. No injuries were reported.
"The timing of this rescue was fortunate; I commend the Coast Guard boat crew’s attentiveness and fast actions to aid these people and their dog," said Chief Warrant Officer James B. Corbisiero, commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light.
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Corbisiero said that the boat’s owner believes the vessel was taking on water due to "a loose plug," though the compartment that housed the plug was not accessible for anyone to confirm this to be the case.
The Coast Guard crew brought the rescued boaters and their dog into a marina in Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey.
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The capsized vessel was righted by a commercial salvage company, which then towed it into the same marina.
Last week, Coast Guard crews in South Carolina rescued two jet skiers who became stranded off Morris Island in unsafe weather conditions.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew hoisted both jet skiers from the island and flew to Charleston Executive Airport in Johns Island.
