Coast Guard rescues more than 180 people from overloaded sailboat off Florida Keys
More than 180 people were rescued from an overloaded and unsafe sailboat off the Florida Keys, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
At 5 a.m. Monday, a good Samaritan reported the incident off Rodriguez Key, the Coast Guard's 7th District tweeted. The Coast Guard and others responded, battling challenging weather and seas to safely remove what they initially said were 22 people from the sailboat.
#Breaking @USCG, @CBPAMORegDirSE crews rescued 22 people off an overloaded sailing vessel after a good Sam reported it to Sector KeyWest watchstanders @ 5 am, Mon, off Rodriguez Key. Rescue crews are battling 6-10 ft seas, 25 mph winds to safely remove the people from the vessel. pic.twitter.com/GQcqZo93pz
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) November 21, 2022
More than 100 people were rescued from the sailboat before it hit a sandbar south of Whale Harbor, at which point the Coast Guard tweeted that there were reports of people in the water.
On Tuesday, the Coast Guard clarified that it rescued more than 180 people in total from the sailboat.