Spilled Fuel From Capsized Boat In Manasquan Inlet Dissipating
POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A 64-foot fishing boat capsized in the Manasquan Inlet early Wednesday, but all three people aboard were rescued from the chilly water in the pre-dawn darkness.
The Coast Guard said it received a radio distress call from a crewman aboard the Atlantic Traveler just before 5 a.m. saying a hydraulic hose had snapped, making them lose control of their clutch and steering mechanisms.
The vessel was drifting toward rocks in the inlet, which separates Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach.
The boat remained in the inlet, where crews were working to contain any fuel that might leak. Wednesday afternoon, officials said the spilled fuel was rapidly dissipating.
The state Department of Environmental protection says the Atlantic Traveler had 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboard when it overturned. Most of the fuel remains inside the boat's tanks.
The challenge is to right the vessel before it breaks up on the rocky jetty it is pinned up against. Options were being considered Wednesday afternoon.
A Coast Guard crew pulled 38-year-old William Hill, of Brick Township; 19-year-old Matthew Morris, of Point Pleasant; and 30-year-old William Lewis, of Marshallberg, N.C., from the water.
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