9 rescued from sinking boats over the weekend off Citrus County's coast

SHELL ISLAND, Fla. - Nine boaters were rescued off Citrus County's coast over the weekend after two reports of sinking vessels.

The Citrus County Sheriff's Office said these were two separate boating incidents that happened while a small craft advisory was in place. The sheriff's office's marine unit, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission all responded over the weekend.

The first incident happened at around noon on Saturday, according to CCSO. The marine unit was dispatched to a sinking vessel with two people in the water about 14 miles northwest of Shell Island.

Deputies said they found a 17-foot fiberglass vessel capsized with two adults in the water and holding onto the boat. A north wind had been blowing about 15-20 miles per hour, which caused six-foot waves in the area, according to officials.

Both of the people were rescued by CCSO's marine unit and taken to Pete's Pier in Crystal River. Officials said they were not injured, but were very cold because of the water temperatures, which were 68 degrees.

Six hours after rescuing the two boaters, CCSO's marine unit was dispatched again to a sinking vessel, which had five adults and two juveniles on board. This happened about 18 miles southwest of Shell Island.

Deputies said FWC and the Coast Guard also responded, and crews found all seven people still on board the boat. They had lost engine power on the boat and waves were starting to come over the bow and the stern as sea conditions worsened, authorities said.

The boaters on board were out of cellphone range, but they were able to contact crews using their Emergency-Position-Indicating-Radiobeacon (EPIRB) to call for help. All seven of them were rescued and taken to Pete's Pier. Crews said none of them were injured.

SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter