MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Authorities are searching for a boater who went missing from a charter boat near Miami Beach on Sunday, following unconfirmed reports that a person had become trapped underneath the vessel.
7News cameras captured police boat lights off the Venetian Causeway, as multiple agencies continued to search for the missing boater.
Accoding to officials, calls came in at around 4 p.m. of someone trapped underneath a yacht off Monument Island.
Investigators are still working to confirm these reports, but they said the boater went missing from the “Miami Vice,” which charters private parties and day trips.
According to its website, the Miami Vice is a 95-foot speedboat/yacht hybrid.
Witnesses said the search efforts look like something out of a movie. “It was like a big scene in a movie. We thought it was a party, and someone was just drunk, but apparently it was more than this.” said Adi Shlabok. “I’m sorry to hear this news that this is what happened, but I hope everything will be fine.”
Sunday night, officials said they are still in rescue mode and have classified this situation as a missing boater.
Just before 10 p.m., the Miami Vice was towed to a U.S. Coast Guard facility.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is the lead agency in the investigation, but Miami-Dade and Miami Beach Fire Rescue crews also responded and are assisting in the search.
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