A witness described the sight as “very concerning”
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- A luxury yacht carrying dozens of influencers began taking on water and eventually “flipped over,” forcing the Coast Guard to evacuate the vessel near Miami Beach, Florida, on May 3
- The yacht was reportedly a Lamborghini vessel
- “We were just on the boat and we saw a bunch of cops, police boats, and there was another yacht that was flipped over completely vertically in the water,” one witness said
A luxury yacht carrying dozens of influencers began taking on water and eventually “flipped over,” forcing the Coast Guard to evacuate the vessel near Miami Beach in Florida.
According to the Coast Guard’s southeastern division, a Coast Guard crew, as well as a vessel from other local agencies, responded to a call at around 5 p.m. local time on Saturday, May 3, reporting that a 63-foot yacht was taking on water near Monument Island.
Local FOX affiliate station WSVN reported that units from other agencies, including the Miami Beach Police Marine Patrol, also responded to the sinking yacht.
Both police and a vessel owned by a passerby helped get 32 people to shore without any injuries, the outlet reported.
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A number of passengers who were on the vessel shared video footage on social media of the yacht beginning to take on water. Several of the passengers could be seen trying to save expensive items onboard, such as laptops, as one person joked: “Women and children first!”
“We were just on the boat and we saw a bunch of cops, police boats, and there was another yacht that was flipped over completely vertically in the water,” witness Rachael Miller told CBS News Miami.
“It was vertical,” Miller added. “It was straight up in the water. It definitely didn’t look ordinary, and it’s just very concerning.”
Another witness, Bruce Maresh, told WSVN that he couldn’t believe what he was seeing as the vessel tipped over.
“Something in the distance, it appeared at an angle, and the closer we get, you could tell it was a big boat,” Maresh said.
WSVN reported that the 32 rescued passengers were transported to the Miami Beach Marina.
According to dispatch calls obtained by CBS News Miami, the yacht was a “Lamborghini vessel,” but it is currently unclear who owns the boat or what caused it to take on water.
The Coast Guard said that commercial salvage is working to recover the ship and noted that it will not be a hazard to other vessels near Miami Beach.
