11 people rescued after airboat capsizes off Outer Banks: Coast Guard

WTVD-AP
Friday, July 28, 2023
ABC11 24/7 Streaming Channel

MANTEO, N.C. -- Eleven people were rescued after an airboat capsized off the Outer Banks on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.



A Dare County, North Carolina, dispatcher alerted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina around 10:15 a.m. that the 20-foot air-propeller-powered boat capsized about half of a mile west of Oregon Inlet, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The Coast Guard sent two response boats and a helicopter.



One person was pinned under the airboat and may have suffered a chest and head injury, the statement said. Oregon Inlet rescue boat crews pulled that person from the water and they were flown to a hospital. Coast Guard crews pulled the remaining 10 people from the water, including two people who were reported to have serious injuries.



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The boat was towed to Pirates Cove Marina in Manteo.



The Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment in Nags Head is investigating the accident, officials said.



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