Marine 4 Rescues 10 from Sinking Boat on the Hudson

As many were returning home from a busy night of July 4 celebrations, members of Marine 4 helped rescue 10 people from a sinking boat.

Just before 11:30 p.m., members of Marine 4 heard a Mayday distress call from a 41-foot Searay vessel stating it hit a buoy and was taking on water somewhere between the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges.

The members contacted the boat’s captain, who said he was going to try to beach the boat but was unable. He then tried to tie up on a pier to offload his passengers, but due to the height of the pier he was unable.

Members of Marine 4 quickly located the vessel and pulled along side it.

"What I saw from the inside was just gushing water, almost like a waterfall," said Firefighter Keith Newell.

In the five minutes it took for them to locate the vessel, he said it had taken on about two to three feet of water.

"If we’d taken 10 minutes, that boat would have sunk," he said.

All the occupants of the large vessel were wearing life jackets and none of them appeared injured. They seemed calm, but a worried about the situation.

The owner of the boat wanted to stay, so the firefighters removed eight passengers to the fire boat. Since the sinking boat was pitching heavily to the bow and listing to the port side, they tried to beach it, yet found it not possible due to the amount of water on board.

Firefighter Newell stayed aboard the sinking vessel with the two remaining occupants to start dewatering operations. Shortly after, several other boats arrived and a dewatering pump was put into service. They quickly discovered this was not enough to keep the boat afloat and ended up operating five additional pumps.

Firefighter Kevin Wacha piloted the eight passengers on Marine 4 to a dock in Queens, south of the Whitestone Bridge, and notified dispatch that they needed a fire and EMS response to the dock.

After ensuring they were properly cared for, Firefighter Wacha returned with an officer and two firefighters from Ladder 144, who helped with dewatering operations.

Once the vessel was stabilized, Boat U.S. and Seatow towed the boat with the two remaining occupants to a marina to be hauled out of the water.

"I’m just glad everything worked out," Firefighter Newell said. "It was a team effort."