Massachusetts

8-Year-Old Suffers Life-Threatening Injuries When Boat Overturns in Wareham, Massachusetts

An 8-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries Wednesday afternoon when a sailboat overturned off Wareham, Massachusetts.

Environmental Police said nine children and three adults were rescued when a power boat near Stony Point Dike capsized at 4:41 p.m.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Nicole Groll said someone on a private vessel nearby had spotted the 18-foot boat and called for help, then took people in the water on board.

By the time Martin Van Breems and his crew on the Disco Volante got to the scene, there were parents and children from three different families in the water.

"The people in the water were screaming and crying. One kid couldn’t be accounted for. It was heartbreaking," Van Breems said. "I heard one daughter scream, 'I love you mom'. They were scared."

Van Breems said his crew, co-captain and four students had just finished practicing man overboard drills.

"My co-captain spotted the over turned boat and people in water," he recalled.

Everyone had on a life jacket and Van Breems' crew was able to get most of the victims out of the water.

Michael Margulis had also been diving nearby, servicing moorings in Buzzards Bay.

"I was fully dressed in my wet suit, dive gear rigged, ready for another dive so I thought I could aid and assist by just showing up," Margulis.

When Environmental Police arrived and most of the victims had been rescued, an 8-year-old boy was still unaccounted for.

"I switched my dive gear over, went over the rail, started searching the submerged boat, one victim was wearing a life jacket, stuck in the the bow section of the boat, I was able to free that person and bring him to the surface," Margulis recalled.

After CPR was performed on the child, he was taken to Tobey Hospital then by medical helicopter to Boston Children's Hospital.

The other children and adults that were rescued did not suffer serious injuries. Most were evaluated at Tobey Hospital.

"It’s rough out there, it might be a sunny day at the beach but when you’re out on Buzzards Bay, the wind and waves can offer hazardous conditions, wear your life jacket," said Margulis.

Environmental Police are investigating the exact cause of the accident.

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