A Coast Guard vessel capsized after trying to rescue workers on a fishing boat that ran aground on the Rockaway shores early Thursday morning, according to published reports.
ABC News reported that the Long Island Coast Guard command center received a distress call from the fishing vessel Carolina Queen III when it ran aground at Rockaway Beach near Beach 59th Street at around 2 a.m. According the Daily News, the 76-foot scallop fishing boat had been on an eight-day fishing excursion when it lost power.
The crew was still aboard as the fishing boat took on water at the time of the incident. All seven crew members were rescued from the boat using a basket from a Coast Guard helicopter above and there were no injuries reported.
The Daily News reported a 25-foot Coast Guard response boat endured 10- to 12-foot waves before finally flipping over at 5 a.m. All five of the men on board were able to swim back to shore near Beach 19th Street, and the boat washed up on land shortly afterward.
