Two children were killed and two others are in critical condition after a barge struck their boat and threw them overboard during a sailing camp in Miami on Monday, authorities said.
Responders rescued all six people on the sailing boat, and four children were rushed to a nearby hospital, where two were pronounced dead, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicholas Strasburg, a US Coast Guard spokesperson.
The six — one adult and five children — were in their final week of the sailing camp for children aged 7 to 15, according to the Miami Yacht Club.
“The entire MYC family is devastated by this terrible tragedy,” said Emily Copeland, the yacht club’s commodore, in an official statement.
Strasburg said two of the six rescued were in “good condition.”
According to Coast Guard statistics, over 550 people died while recreational boating last year, 43 of whom were killed when their vessels collided.
According to Arielle Callender, a regional spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the boats collided near Star Island in Biscayne Bay, which connects Miami Beach and Miami.
Local television stations showed first responders in boats, some wearing scuba diving gear, surrounding what appeared to be a barge. The Coast Guard is investigating the crash.
