POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – What was supposed to be a routine diving expedition turned into a frightening ordeal for everyone involved.
The Safari Diver was about two miles off the coast of Pompano Beach on Sunday afternoon when it suddenly started taking on water.
Other dive crews in the area noticed that the boat was sinking and raced in to help.
There were 11 passengers and two crew members of the Safari Diver aboard the vessel when it began to sink.
Oliver Paoli said his crew rescued half of the divers, a mixture of tourists and locals.
“The boat was in distress, so we flew as fast as we could over just to lend assistance,” Paoli said. “We swung the boat carefully around; we deployed the tag line in the water and asked the divers to come over our ladder and, at that point, we got seven people on board safely.”
The Safari Diver, a 34-foot crusader, is one of three vessels owned by South Florida Diving Headquarters, which is located at the Sands Harbor Hotel and Marina in Pompano Beach.
It would normally be docked at the marina there.
The president of the company said that nothing was wrong with the boat and that it started taking on water in the rear.
The Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Sea Tow responded.
According to the Coast Guard, the dive boat, which sank 70 feet underwater, will be re-floated.
An investigation by the Coast Guard into what went wrong and caused the boat to sink is ongoing.