Video shows police officers rescue 3 fishermen from sinking boat in Boston Harbor

WBZ

By WBZ Web Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    BOSTON (WBZ) — Body camera video shows the moment Boston police officers rescued three fishermen from a sinking boat in Boston Harbor on Friday morning.

The 90-foot Eileen Rita ran aground on rocks near Green Island in the outer reaches of the harbor shortly before 8 a.m. The boat was taking on water and ended up on its side.

All three crewmembers on the boat were wearing their survival suits and waiting for rescue. They were about 15 feet above the water line, “perched atop the gunwale,” according to police.

Body camera video from Boston police shows the crewmembers slide along the side of the sinking ship and board the police boat. The crewmembers told officers they were not hurt. They were evaluated by Boston EMS and did not require further medical attention.

Fuel leak in Boston Harbor

Two Coast Guard boats also responded to the area to assist with the rescue. While monitoring the Eileen Rita, a commercial fishing vessel homeported in New Bedford, Coast Guard personnel observed the boat began to list and leak fuel and oil into Boston Harbor.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection says the owner of the boat hired a company to try to contain the fuel spill. The Coast Guard said the boat carries a maximum of 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 50 gallons of lubricating oil.

The DEP sent an emergency response team to help with clean up.

“The Coast Guard is working closely with the responsible party to mitigate fuel discharge,” said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Alfred Betts. “Simultaneously, methods to safely remove the vessel from the island are being evaluated.”

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.