Three men were pulled to safety from the ocean late Monday night after the boat they were riding in flipped over offshore, leaving them stranded in the dark with nothing but a phone flashlight to signal for help. All three walked away without injuries, and the boat was later hauled out of the water by a towing crew.
According to WSVN 7News, the men were aboard the vessel when it capsized near Fort Lauderdale, and Broward Sheriff's Office Marine and Harbor Patrol officers responded to bring them to safety. The station reports the vessel was located about two miles offshore of Port Everglades, and that the men used their phone's flashlight to signal rescuers before being brought aboard uninjured.
A separate account from BocaNewsNow.com identifies the boat as a 17-foot Boston Whaler that had capsized approximately two miles offshore from the Port Everglades Inlet. Deputies quickly located the flipped vessel and rescued the three individuals from the ocean, the outlet reports, noting that the victims were using a light on their phone that helped crews find them in the dark.
Deputies Race to the Scene as Multiple Agencies Respond
Per the same account, Broward County Regional Communications received the report of the capsized vessel at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Monday, September 28. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue were all notified to respond alongside marine units, the report notes.
BSO Marine Patrol Deputy Alex Beer and BSO Harbor Patrol Deputy Rajendra Sukhdeo arrived first on scene, according to the outlet's reporting. All three young men were brought to safety without injury, and the boat was later recovered by Sea Tow.
September 2026 Rescue Took Place Off Port Everglades
The September 2026 capsizing was about two miles offshore from Port Everglades. A separate rescue near Pompano Beach took place in April 2020. CBS12 reported that a fishing boat capsized in open water near Pompano Beach, and the Miami Herald described a rescue about a mile from shore after a distress call around 9 p.m. Both reports were published April 30, 2020, and describe the separate Pompano Beach incident.
In its account of the separate 2020 Pompano Beach rescue, CBS12 reported that all three men were wearing life jackets and were not injured, and that deputies believed the boat capsized because of high winds and four- to five-foot sea conditions. Rough water off Broward's coast has led to similar rescues before; in 2020, according to the Sun-Sentinel, marine patrol crews pulled three people from a capsized boat about one mile off Pompano Beach.
The three men rescued this week have not been publicly identified.
