A man was killed and another suffered critical injuries after a 32-foot yacht collided with a ferry boat in PortMiami early Sunday morning, according to CBS News Miami.
The body of Cristian Gaston Fernandez, 27, was retrieved by a Miami police dive team after the yacht he was sailing on collided with a Fisher Island Ferry, according to CBS News Miami. Fernandez’s friend, 29-year-old Angel Dominguez, was rescued by the ferry crew and later transported to a local trauma center where he was admitted with serious injuries from the incident, the outlet stated. (RELATED: Coast Guard Rescues Hundreds Of Passengers From Ferry On Fire)
#BREAKING The @USCG has established a temporary security zone limiting inbound and outbound vessel traffic for @PortMiami while @MyFWC conducts an investigation and salvage efforts following an early morning collision between two vessels in the channel. @MiamiDadeFire pic.twitter.com/Czm2AZY07w
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) June 25, 2023
The collision forced the U.S. Coast Guard to restrict access to PortMiami for 11 hours. Investigations into the incident ensued and crews worked to remove the sunken yacht from the waterway, the outlet noted.
The port’s closure affected more than 16,000 passengers at sea who were left idling on three cruise lines until the port was reopened by the Coast Guard. Around that same number of passengers waiting to board the incoming ships were also left waiting in the terminal, according to CBS Miami.
“We were supposed to be going to the Dominican Republic. Supposed to be at sea leaving at seven o’clock. However, we’re still here in the cruise terminal. There’s little food, little water on board the ship, it was a madhouse. There were actually a couple of fistfights that broke out,” passenger Nick Pirozzi said, according to told the outlet.
The crash is being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the outlet noted.