Over a Dozen People Rescued From Sinking Pompano Beach Boat

Pompano Beach, Florida – On Sunday a boat with more than a dozen people on board, began to sink in the waters of Pompano Beach.
According to Frank Frione, he and his friends spotted the dive boat going down just before 4 p.m. Sunday near the Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach.
“We approached it (and) realized it was sinking — half the boat (was) underwater,” Frione said.
Frione said the boat with “Safari Diver” written on the side started to lean in a matter of minutes, forcing the passengers to jump.
The last person on the dive boat can be seen on a cellphone video standing on the hull before he jumps.
“That’s when we realized things are getting out of control, people are jumping off the boat, the captain is on the boat — he jumped off,” Frione said. “It was just a very scary, frightening thing because there are children on board the ship too.”
According to Frione, the children and adults were trying to keep their heads above water while he and his friends rushed over to help them.
“We rescued one diver,” he said.
Nearby boaters also rushed over to help and the others were also pulled to safety.
Coast Guard officials said they are still trying to figure out what caused the boat to sink. According to a witness, the boat ran over its anchor line, which brought it underwater.
“The hook got caught and was pulling the boat down,” one man said.