Coast Guard, good Samaritans rescue 3 boaters after vessel capsizes in Tampa Bay

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 06/23/2018 11:57 AM EDT

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U.S. Coast Guard 7th District PA Detachment Tampa Bay
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Coast Guard, good Samaritans rescue 3 boaters after vessel capsizes in Tampa Bay

Coast Guard boatcrew members aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Station St. Petersburg, Florida, arrive and transport three rescued boaters to the station Saturday, June 23, 2018. The boaters were rescued by good Samaritans 12 miles west of Tampa after there 20-foot boat capsized. (U.S. Coast Guard photo) Shown here is a 20-foot capsized boat in the water 12 miles west of Tampa, Saturday, June 23, 2018. The three boaters who were aboard were rescued by good Samaritans, transferred to a Coast Guard boatcrew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Station St. Petersburg, Florida, who took them to the station with no reported injuries. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Coast Guard and good Samaritans rescued three boaters Saturday after their vessel capsized 12 miles west of Tampa.

Rescued were Raul Gutierrez, 40, Jorge Gutierrez, 51, and Jose Gari, 38. All three men are from Kissimmee.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg were notified at 8:21 a.m. via Vessel Traffic Services who relayed a report from a commercial tug boat crewmember who stated boaters were capsized in Tampa Bay. 

Watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and diverted a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RBM) boatcrew from Station St. Petersburg to assist.

At 8:35 a.m., good Samaritans responded to the UMIB, located the capsized 20-foot boat and pulled the three people from the water. The RBM boatcrew rendezvoused with the good Samaritan crew, embarked the three boaters and transported them to Station St. Petersburg.

No injuries were reported.

"You can never underestimate the importance of our boating community," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Kristen Bachicha, watchstander at Sector St. Petersburg. “Thanks to today’s good Samaritans and the close coordination between Sector and Station St. Petersburg we had a successful outcome.”

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-USCG-