8 Boaters Rescued From Boston Harbor
BOSTON (CBS) -- Eight people are safe Monday morning after they were stranded near Rainsford Island in Boston Harbor early Monday morning.
One woman who was on board said their 24-foot powerboat boat suddenly began taking on water.
Boston Police boat brings 8 people back to shore after their 24-foot powerboat starts sinking. #wbz pic.twitter.com/FJM3TNbGbC
— Doug Cope (@dcopewbz) June 12, 2017
"We were on the boat suddenly temp started rising, the boat got overheated, smoke started coming out, water was filling in," said Zoray Marie. "Thank God we got help."
The occupants said their quick thinking likely saved their lives, as they used the only cell phone on board--with just 15 percent battery left--to call police.
Marie said the group decided to intentionally ground the boat on Rainsford Island. Coast Guard Petty Officer Andrew Barisi agrees that the owner did the right thing by beaching the boat.
"They didn't end up, you know, physically in the water off the coast or anything like that. They made it to an island which is pretty smart thinking," Barisi said.
Coast Guard officials said they received that call just after 2 a.m. Monday morning.
The boat is still stuck on Rainsford Island and the investigation into the cause will get started Tuesday.
The rescued boaters were brought back to Falcon Pier in a Boston Police boat and no one was hurt.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope reports