Nine lives saved in dangerous rescue in Jupiter Inlet

JUPITER, Fla. (CBS12) — Sunday afternoon the Tequesta Police Department and Tow Boat US pulled off a dangerous rescue in the Jupiter Inlet that saved the lives of nine people.

Crews received a call that a boat was having mechanical issues, and concerned citizens kept their cameras rolling to capture the rescue. Chris Shaffner, the Owner of Tow Boat US in West Palm Beach, explained, “A Good Samaritan heard the VHF call for the Coast Guard stating that 9 people were on board, that their motors had died and they were drifting out of the inlet.”

For those nine people on board, each minute became more concerning as the boat drifted toward the rocks on the jetty. At one point, one of them even made the situation worse by jumping into the water.

“There were people jumping off the boat because they were afraid they would get washed out to sea,” said Shaffner. “When those things happen you have to be able to move fast and you have to be able to move quick.”

The swells reached up to ten feet, and fortunately both Tequesta Police and Tow Boat US were able to lasso the boat, and pull it into the safety of the harbor. “This is one of the better incomes we have seen,” said Shaffner. “I think they were more interested in getting a good view of it to see what was going on, unfortunately they ran out of fuel at the wrong time.”

There were no injuries.