Water Taxi Capsizes in Baltimore Harbor

3-6-2004

[George from New England]

on Foxs News right now

[Ragirl]

Per CNN out of 25 people on the boat, 18 were rescued. 1 woman and 1 child in cardiac arrest, no other information on them. Divers still in the water.

[billorites]

Saturday, March 06, 2004
WBAL Radio and The Associated Press

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A water taxi capsized Saturday in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, injuring at least two people, authorities said.

Spokesman Kevin Cartwright said "quite a number were missing," but he didn't know how many. He said one child and one adult were in cardiac arrest, and some people may have been able to swim to shore to safety.

About 25 people were on board at the time of the accident, Cartwright said.

He said divers were in the water searching for passengers.

Cartwright said the taxi overturned near Fort McHenry in south Baltimore. He said officials received the call about 4 p.m.

He said a storm with heavy rain and high winds that came through the city may have caused the taxi to capsize.

"Possibly the strong storm that came through caused it to take place," Cartwright said.

[dbwz]

That water is not deadly cold.

In 50 degree water, you'll survive about 2 hours.

[foreverfree]

bump

[Nexus]

I've been on one of the harbor's water taxis, and they ride very stable indeed. I'm curious as to how this happened as well.

[apastron]

In 50 degree water, you'll survive about 2 hours

...If you can swim. Baltimore harbor is DEEP.

[Viking2002]

I'm originally from Maryland, and do the Inner Harbor every chance I get. That water is not too forgiving on the best of days. I pray that there are more survivors.

[Endeavor]

High winds I'd guess, from a thunderstorm event. Are they car ferries as well or just people? Fox said there were 24 passengers on board. I don't know how many crew.

[glock rocks]

Seven Missing After Water Taxi Capsizes in Baltimore's Inner Harbor

FoxNews.com

Saturday, March 06, 2004

BALTIMORE —AP— A water taxi (search) carrying 25 passengers capsized Saturday in Baltimore's Inner Harbor (search) during a fierce rain and wind storm, killing one woman and leaving seven people missing, authorities said.

Eighteen people were rescued, and six of them were taken to a nearby hospital after being pulled from the chilly water, said Baltimore fire spokesman Kevin Cartwright. An adult and a child were among the injured, he said.

Divers were in the water searching for the seven missing passengers, Cartwright said.

He said a storm with heavy rain and powerful winds that came through Baltimore at about the time of the accident may have caused the vessel to capsize.

"It's very possible that the weather was a factor in this," Cartwright said.

The water temperature at the time of the accident was 44 degrees.

The accident happened at around 4 p.m. about a mile offshore. A unit of the Naval reserves helped with the rescue.

The Inner Harbor is one of the nation's oldest seaports and draws millions of tourists every year. Water taxis ferry thousands of visitors each year to the many points on the harbor, including Fort McHenry, Fells Point and the National Aquarium (search).

[StriperSniper]

Closest water temp. I can find is 43.2 deg. at Station TPLM2 - Thomas Point, MD.

[mhking]

Updated 7:25 - from WBAL-TV:

BALTIMORE -- One woman was killed Saturday as divers attempt to recover 4 people missing after a pontoon boat carrying 25 people capsized during a fierce rain and windstorm in the Patapsco River near the Inner Harbor.

Officials said 21 people have been rescued -- including one child and one adult who were in cardiac arrest. A woman in her 50s taken to Bayview Medical Center died, Baltimore city police said. Six of those were taken to a nearby hospital after being pulled from the water, and their conditions were not immediately known.

WBAL-TV 11 News reported out of those rescued, the U.S. Naval Reserves based in Baltimore rescued 12 from the water. The station talked to a witness who said she saw life vests floating in the water shortly after the accident.

Originally, it was believed the vessel was a water taxi, but there is new information that suggests it may have been a pontoon boat from the Living Classrooms Foundation.

Lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller said the boat was leaving Fort McHenry and attempted to make a U-turn when a storm with heavy rain and powerful winds that came through the city at about the time of the accident. Miller said the boat was flipped by the high winds and choppy water near Fort McHenry in south Baltimore about 4 p.m.

The Inner Harbor is one of the nation's oldest seaports and draws millions of tourists every year. Water taxis ferry thousands of visitors to the many points on the harbor.

[Damocles]

...new information that suggests it may have been a pontoon boat...

Well that makes a big difference, those things are like a kite in high winds...

[Lizavetta]

There's a Ted Kennedy joke in here somewhere....

[staytrue]

FYI, you have the wrong water taxi.

The capsized boat is the Seaport water taxi which uses different boats.

[staytrue]

Update: 12:30am March 7, 2004

25 people were in the boat, 3 bodies are missing and presumed dead, 22 people were recovered. Of the 22, 1 died, 3 are in critical condition including an 8 year old girl.

Rescue operations are now recover operations and have mostly ceased until morning.

Seaport taxi services will not run on Sunday out of respect for the victims.

[ZOTnot]

I personally just don't think there is anything funny about this story.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

There's a Ted Kennedy joke in here somewhere....

Why don't you tell your joke to the dead and missing's families.

[staytrue]

That water is not deadly cold. I lived on a boat in that harbor for two years. I know how those water taxis are constructed; they are very stable. I'm curious how this accident happened.

The inner harbor had standing ice on it 1 month ago. The water temp was quoted today at 43 degrees F. Most likely there was a cross wind combined with a wave. The wave probably lifted one side of the boat a bit, the wind got under the boat a bit and then the people got thrown from one side of the boat to the other causing one side to roll up, then the wind completed the job.

One other factor could be that the waves could have scared some people on the windward side to move to the leeward side destabilizing the boat's balance.

[Future Useless Eater]

A news conference called it a Living Classroom -Seaport water taxi. From the helicopter shots, it definately LOOKED like a extra-long pontoon boat, and some news reports are calling it a 36 foot pontoon water taxi.

The owner called the surprise storm a micro-burst blowing thru the harbor. He said a person on land warned the driver by radio, and he immediately headed for shore.

A witness on shore said it flipped in strong winds as it was trying to U-turn. This HAS to be DRIVER ERROR in the way he handled it.

During a high wind, those boats get very tippy, and should never be allowed to get broadside to that wind. The driver hopefully ordered life jackets on everyone when it became rough, and especially before he attemted the u-turn, but it doesn't seem like that happened.

A safer maneuver would have been to try to keep the bow pointed mostly into the wind no matter what, and angle it towards the nearest shore. But that's hard to do since the motor is the only rudder, and that motor is getting lifted out of the water during each deep swell.

And whenever the motor lifts from the water, it revs WAY up (and it could burn out). Then when the rear of the boat drops BACK into the water, if the rev'ed propeller hits the water hard under too much power, it can easily break its rubber 'sheer pin'. (I don't recall the more correct name for that molded rubber). Then the motor is only good for slow speed crawling back to shore.

So another possible maneuver could have been to drop anchor from the bow, and let out ALL the anchor rope/chain that he had, and ride out the storm (plus radio and wait for help)

[Elkiejg]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.rescue07mar07,0,850926.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

Rescuers hailed for keeping toll down Officials say more deaths probable if not for action of U.S. Navy reservists

As the wind whipped out of the Inner Harbor toward Fort McHenry late yesterday afternoon, Petty Officer Edward Mendez looked from the U.S. Naval Reserve Training Center on Fort Avenue and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"It looked like a small toy boat blown out of control," Mendez said last night, recalling the initial moments of Baltimore's catastrophic water taxi accident. "The wind was so strong. I'd never seen anything like it."

"As the boat tried to make it back to shore, they tried to turn it, and there was nothing they could do. The wind didn't really push it up. It just rolled it over," said Mendez, 41, of San Diego.

Mendez quickly called 911 to alert the Baltimore Fire Department's water rescue station next door. He and his fellow naval officers then scrambled into action.

"It felt like the wind was a gale force," said Master Chief Melvin Johnson, 58, of Baltimore, who also saw the boat capsize. "The water and wind were just too much.

"We heard the building give a loud shake. I looked out and saw the boat. The water was getting choppy, and it was eerie, it was like the wind and water were overtaking the vessel.

"It started to turn to port, to try to go to safety or to turn back, and then it tilted and flipped over," Johnson said.

'As fast as we could'

Johnson said that although the center's reserve officers -- who were at the base for weekend exercises -- aren't specifically trained for such a rescue, there was no hesitation.

"I didn't have to call anyone," said Johnson, the senior enlisted man at the center. "Everyone automatically starting going and getting the boat together to get out there as fast as we could."

More than 20 officers scrambled aboard the center's 72-foot-long naval troop deployment vessel, which includes a ramp off the rear for easy movement into and out of the water.

Meantime, the people thrown into the water from the capsized 36-foot Seaport Taxi scrambled for whatever refuge they could find from the choppy, freezing water.

"I saw two people get onto the bottom of the boat right away, and some other people then got up onto it a few minutes later," said Mendez, who remained at the center with Johnson as they prepared for survivors.

Boat kept drifting

By the time the rescuers reached the capsized craft -- a little more than 20 minutes after Mendez and Johnson saw the accident -- it had drifted a quarter-mile farther from Fort McHenry.

"The boat kept moving farther and farther away," Johnson said. "The wind was still blowing, and it started going out toward the Key Bridge."

The naval boat and the fire department craft reached the capsized vessel at about the same time.

"Ten of our guys went into the water right away and started pulling people up onto the boat," Mendez said. "They had life preservers, that was it. They were freezing because the water was so cold. It didn't matter. They went in to do the rescue."

Mendez said he believed that 17 survivors were pulled from the water by naval officers and brought back to land.

"People were conscious. A few were not," Mendez said.

With the fire department's station and the naval training center side by side adjacent to Fort McHenry, officers immediately began helping firefighters set up treatment.

"We were bringing out blankets and clothing, whatever we could find," Mendez said. "Anything to help people get warm."

Johnson said T-shirts also were distributed to the shivering, wet survivors.

"Everyone looked so cold," he said.

After the survivors were transported to area hospitals, the reservists were taken to Bethesda Naval Hospital for treatment, Johnson said.

"They need to be taken care of," Johnson said. "They were all very cold, and they needed to be checked out. They also needed to talk to someone because they had just seen people die. That's a tough thing."

While briefing reporters last night, Baltimore Fire Chief William Goodwin Jr. acknowledged how fortunate it had been that the two naval officers had seen the boat flip over -- and that the accident had taken place directly in front of both the naval center and the fire rescue station.

"Had no one been looking, this tragedy would be worse than it already is," Goodwin said.

The naval center's commander said he was proud of the efforts of his officers.

"I think it's great that they did exactly what they needed to do, without hesitation," said Cmdr. Jim McGovern, 39, of Virginia Beach. Va. "They responded to the situation out there as best they could.

"Things surely would have been worse if they hadn't have responded so quickly."

By the time Mendez finished talking to reporters last night, he appeared to realize the value of what he and his fellow officers had done.

"If it wasn't for the Navy," Mendez said, "a lot more people wouldn't have made it."