Two found in frigid waters, three riding on hull after boat capsizes off Outer Banks

Five people had to be rescued from treacherous waters off the Outer Banks after their 26-foot boat sank and flipped over, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

It happened around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, about six miles beyond Oregon Inlet, officials said. The inlet is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the central Outer Banks.

Coast Guard officials said the rescue boat arrived about 40 minutes after the initial distress call about a boat “taking on water.”

A photo shared by the Coast Guard shows the crew arrived to find the boat capsized and three people riding atop the hull. Two others were found floating nearby, officials said.

All five anglers were taken to Outer Banks Hospital and were “being treated for hypothermia,” officials said Wednesday.

Brad Smith of Virginia Beach, Virginia, says he was among the people on the boat and he credits the Coast Guard with saving their lives. The group had been fishing 12 hours when the boat began to sink, he wrote in a Facebook post.

“On the way in we started taking on water from an unknown source,” he wrote on Facebook. “The time between realization that we weren’t putting the water out faster than we were taking it on, and capsizing was less than 5 minutes. ... We’re all alive. We will all make a 100% recovery. We have #USCG to thank for being alive right now.”

The Coast Guard did not released the identities of the people rescued. Details of what may have caused the boat to sink were also not released.

“Thankfully, these mariners were prepared,” according to a statement from Cmdr. Courtney Sergent, the search and rescue mission coordinator for the region.

“Donning life jackets and staying near their capsized vessel was the absolute right decision. Due to their quick actions, our Coast Guard crews and local partners were able to locate them and bring them safely home to their families.”

The Coast Guard Station at Oregon Inlet reported on Facebook the group was out fishing when the boat began to take on water, and they were located with the help of an “Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon” on the sunken Grady White boat.

This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Two found in frigid waters, three riding on hull after boat capsizes off Outer Banks."