TowBoat US waiting on tide to bring in sunken boat

SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY) — The 48-foot boat that capsized about 15 miles east of the Cape Fear on Tuesday is still being towed to shore.

The boat began taking on water around 5:15 p.m. One of the five people on board contacted the Coast Guard and activated an emergency position indicating radio beacon to help rescuers locate them.

The Coast Guard pulled all five people from the water and took them to the Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach.

Capt. Evan Schollaert with TowBoat US says he got to the scene about the same time as the Coast Guard.

Schollaert says he began towing the boat around 6:30-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.  He says the boat has sunken so low that the water isn’t deep enough to get it into Southport while the tide is out. He ran aground once and is now waiting for the tide to come in, which should be around 4:20 p.m.

Schollaert says he will tow the boat to the Southport Yacht Basin, where they will put bags under the boat to lift it up and pump the water out.

The boat will then be hauled to Zimmerman Marine in Southport.

No word yet on what caused the boat to start taking on water.