Men rescued after boat capsized off Virginia Key
MIAMI - What started as a fun fishing trip between four friends ended up a fight for survival. Thanks to a multi-agency search and life vests, they did indeed survive.
The four friends were heading home after an afternoon of fishing when their 24-foot boat got hit by two large waves about two to three miles east of Virginia Key.
"The sea goes inside to the boat, two big olas (waves), and they destroyed the boat," said Ray Duran.
He said they had seconds to act as the boat was going down.
"The boat started to sink, everybody grabbed the life jacket, and we tried to go together to the sand," said Duran.
Alexis Jorge said they all tried to swim to shore but the rough seas split them apart.
"I swim (sic) to the bay, I found the police in Virginia Key, almost two hours of swimming," said Jorge.
"We were searching just outside of Bear Cut, one gentleman was recovered initially he was swimming close to the vessel, one managed to swim to shore, and we had two missing," said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Nicholas DiGiacomo.
DiGiacomo said the call to help a capsized vessel went out to all nearby agencies around 11:30 p.m. Thursday.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Florida Fish and Wildlife personnel all took part in the hours-long search for the missing men.
"We had two, approximately 30-year-old males, missing. We were conducting searches with our air rescue units, as well as the other jurisdictions, and approximately just before 2 a.m., Fast Response heard people yelling in the water," he said. "Thankfully, they were wearing life vests at the time, and we came over and picked them up," said DiGiacomo.
Froilan Duran, a relative of Ray Duran, said he didn't want to leave his friend alone, so they ended up in the cold water for about three hours before they were rescued.
They thanked God and the rescuers for saving their lives. The men were taken to the Watson Island Marina to be checked out. They said despite it being a cold, tough experience, they were okay.