Coast Guard Responds to Sinking Charter Boat

Sixteen people were on board a 47-foot diving vessel called the AQUATIC SAFARIS I when it started taking on water Wednesday afternoon.

The boat was 22 miles off shore, southeast of the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

The Coast Guard rescue crews onboard a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach, N.C., and a 25-foot search and rescue boat from Coast Guard Station Oak Island, N.C. were dispatched to the scene.

The crew from a nearby fishing vessel, the ANDIAMO, heard the call for distress and also headed to the scene. The ANDIAMO removed the 13 passengers from the vessel and brought them to the Bridge Tender Marina in Wrightsville Beach.

The AQUATIC SAFARIS I is being towed back to shore. We're told no one on board was injured.