Girl seriously injured after Biscayne Bay barge-sailboat crash recovering: family
Calena Areyan Gruber was released from Jackson Memorial Hospital, her parents Karina Gruber Moreno and Enrique Areyan Viqueira said. The Coast Guard said the girl was rushed to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson after last Monday's crash, which led to the death of three young girls. READ MORE: A third child in the Biscayne Bay barge-sailboat crash has died, yacht club says
'We are deeply moved and incredibly grateful for the outpouring of prayers and kindness we have received from the community,' the family said in the statement. 'We now respectfully ask for privacy as we focus on healing and processing this difficult situation.' Shortly after 11 a.m. July 28, a 60-foot barge pushed by a tugboat operator slammed into a 17-foot Hobie Getaway. Five summer campers and camp counselor from the Miami Yacht Club, a nearly 100-year-old club on Watson Island that teaches children how to sail, were onboard. Mila Yankelevich, 7, Erin Victoria Ko Han, 13, and Arielle 'Ari' Mazi Buchman, 10, were killed in the aftermath of the collision, which occurred around 11:15 a.m. between Hibiscus and Monument islands in Biscayne Bay off Miami Beach. A 12-year-old girl and the 19-year-old female camp counselor were treated at the scene. READ MORE: Coast Guard loopholes could be linked to barge crash, maritime experts say
In the statement, Gruber Moreno and Areyan Viqueira said they were heartbroken for the families who lost their daughters in the unthinkable tragedy.
'This is a deeply harrowing reminder of how suddenly and senselessly life can change,' they said in the statement. 'In an instant, what should have been a day of joy and connection on the water turned into a source of unimaginable grief.'
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CBS News
13 hours ago
- CBS News
Cause of death for third girl killed in sailboat crash near Miami Beach revealed by medical examiner
The cause of death for a third girl killed when a sailboat and barge collided near Miami Beach last week has been determined by the medical examiner's office on Wednesday. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office said that 10-year-old Arielle "Ari" Buchman died from an accidental drowning. Two other victims, 7-year-old Mila Yankelevich and 13-year-old Erin Ko Han, also died from accidental drowning, officials said last week. The three girls and several other children were part of a summer sailing camp operated by the Miami Yacht Club when the crash happened on July 28. A fourth victim, a 7-year-old girl, was released from the hospital on Thursday, July 31. Buchman's passing was announced on Sunday, Aug. 3, when her family's place of worship, Temple Menorah in Miami Beach, released a statement concerning her funeral service that was set to take place that afternoon. Authorities said at about 11:15 a.m. Monday, July 28, a sailboat carrying six people, including five girls and their 19-year-old camp counselor, was struck by a barge and was dragged underneath it. Witnesses told CBS Miami that "all of the kids went flying off" the boat, and they were all wearing life jackets. Miami Beach Fire-Rescue crews were first on scene, and they were later joined by rescue crews from Miami, Miami-Dade, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Coast Guard to help recover all six people. A 12-year-old girl and the counselor were treated after being taken to the Miami Yacht Club and did not require hospitalization. Yankelevich, 7, the granddaughter of prominent Argentine media producers Cris Morena and Gustavo Yankelevich, drowned soon after impact, investigators said. Ko Han also died by accidental drowning, authorities said. The Coast Guard is leading the investigation into the crash. "Our hearts continue to mourn with all those impacted by Monday's tragic incident, especially with the passing of another one of Miami's children today," Captain Florio said. "The Coast Guard remains committed to conducting a thorough investigation to ensure all facts are uncovered. We routinely seek the expertise of our federal, state, and local partner law enforcement agencies, and this case is no different. Our investigative team will be joined by investigators from Argentina, the home nation of one of the victims." The Coast Guard has also extended an invitation to the Chilean National Maritime Authority (DIRECTEMAR) to also participate in the marine investigation.
a day ago
OceanGate CEO who died in Titan sub implosion to blame for tragedy, USCG report says
More than 2 years after the Titan submersible imploded on its way down to the Titanic, killing all five onboard, the Coast Guard's final report placed blame for the disaster squarely on Stockton Rush.
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Titan submersible report says implosion was preventable and CEO ignored safety risks
PORTLAND, Maine — The Titan submersible disaster could have been prevented, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a report Tuesday that held OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush responsible for ignoring safety warnings, design flaws and crucial oversight which, had he survived, may have resulted in criminal charges. Rush and four passengers were killed instantly deep below the North Atlantic in June 2023 when Titan suffered a catastrophic implosion as it descended to the wreck of the Titanic. A multi-day search for survivors off Canada grabbed international headlines, and the tragedy led to lawsuits and calls for tighter regulation of the burgeoning private deep sea expedition industry. The Coast Guard determined the safety procedures at OceanGate, a private company based in Washington state, were 'critically flawed' and found 'glaring disparities' between safety protocols and actual practices. Jason Neubauer with the Marine Board of Investigation said the findings will help avoid future tragedies. 'There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework,' he said in a statement. OceanGate suspended operations in July 2023. A spokesperson for OceanGate, Christian Hammond, said the company has been wound down and was fully cooperating with the investigation, and offered condolences to the families of those who died and everyone affected. Investigators pointed to OceanGate's culture of downplaying, ignoring and even falsifying key safety information to improve its reputation and evade scrutiny from regulators. The company ignored 'red flags' and had a 'toxic workplace culture,' where firings of senior staff and the looming threat of being fired were used to dissuade employees and contractors from expressing safety concerns. Rush, a former test flight engineer for fighter jets, founded the company in 2009 after years of experience in aerospace and aviation. The Marine Board concluded that Rush had an 'escalating disregard for established safety protocols,' which contributed to the deaths of four people. If Rush were alive, the board would have passed the case to the U.S. Department of Justice and he may have faced criminal charges, the board said. The company reclassified submersible passengers as 'mission specialists' to bypass regulations on small passenger vessels and claim its subs were oceanic research vessels. Former mission specialists and OceanGate employees said their participation was 'purely for a ride in the submersible, not for scientific research,' the report said. Rush and OceanGate received numerous warnings about Titan's fraudulent classifications. In 2017, Rush was told by a Coast Guard Reserve officer hired by OceanGate that his planned Titanic dive would be illegal. Rush said 'he would buy a congressman' if ever confronted by regulators, the officer testified. Over the years, the company resorted to increasingly deceptive strategies, the report said. By 2021, an OceanGate attorney falsely informed a federal court in Virginia — which was presiding over The Titan's authorization to conduct dives — that the vessel was registered in the Bahamas, even though it wasn't. To obtain his credentials, Rush submitted a fraudulent sea service letter signed by OceanGate's chief operations officer to the Coast Guard's National Maritime Center, the report said. In the letter, Rush claimed past service as a crew member on Titan and misrepresented the size of the vessel, when in fact it had never been registered or admeasured. Investigators found the submersible's design, certification, maintenance and inspection process were all inadequate. The vessel's carbon fiber hull design and construction introduced flaws that 'weakened the overall structural integrity' of its hull, the report stated. Mounting financial pressures in 2023 led to a decision by OceanGate to store the Titan submersible outdoors over the Canadian winter, where its hull was exposed to temperature fluctuations that compromised the integrity of the vessel, the report said. The implosion also killed French underwater explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, known as 'Mr. Titanic,' British adventurer Hamish Harding, and two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood. Nargeolet's family filed a $50 million lawsuit last year that said the crew experienced 'terror and mental anguish' before the disaster. The lawsuit accused OceanGate of gross negligence. Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic site since 2021. The Titan's final dive came on the morning of June 18, 2023. The submersible lost contact with its support vessel about two hours later, and was reported overdue that afternoon. Ships, planes and equipment were rushed to the scene about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John's, Newfoundland. The Coast Guard-led team operated under the possibility there could be survivors for several days. Wreckage would subsequently be found on the ocean floor about 330 yards (300 meters) off the bow of the Titanic.
