Boater rescues 22 from sinking vessel off Maryland coast

BALTIMORE, June 2 (UPI) -- A good Samaritan boater rescued 22 people, including some elementary school children, from a sinking boat near Maryland's Bloodsworth Island.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it received a distress call from the Karen N., a 40-foot vessel in the Chesapeake Bay. By the time the Coast Guard arrived, an unnamed boater had pulled all of the passengers into his vessel and safely brought them to shore, state Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Candy Thomson said.

Thomson said the captain of the stricken boat was taken by helicopter to a local hospital. Two other people were transported by ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries. It is unclear how many of the rescued passengers were children.

The Coast Guard said it got the distress call saying the boat had sunk and communication was cut off soon after. Helicopter and boat crews were quickly en route to the location.

Lt. j.g. Issac Yates, a command duty officer at the Sector Maryland-National Capital Region command center, said the boat's owner had connected the vessel's radio to a GPS, which allowed rescuers to quickly determine the location.

"All 22 persons in the water were wearing their life preservers," said Yates. "That greatly enhanced their survivability."