boat accident news stories on Newser

Castaway Sues Cruise Liner for Not Rescuing Him

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:06:56 CDT

As Adrian Vasquez and his two friends drifted in the Pacific Ocean , the engine on their fishing boat having failed 16 days before, they were relieved to see a Princess cruise ship sailing past. "We felt happy, because we thought they were coming to rescue us," Vasquez tells the BBC...

India Ferry Capsizes, Kills 103

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:22:17 CDT

Police say a packed ferry has capsized in heavy wind and rain in remote northeastern India, leaving at least 103 people dead and 100 others missing. Details were sketchy because bad weather and the remoteness of the area hampered communication. Assam state police chief JN Choudhury says the accident occurred...

3 Dead in Month's 2nd Yacht Racing Tragedy

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 08:29:05 CDT

A yacht racing off the coasts of California and Mexico apparently collided at night with a much larger vessel, leaving three crew members dead and one missing, a sailing organization said today. It was the state's second ocean racing tragedy this month. The Newport Ocean Sailing Association—organizer of the...

Texan Survives 30 Hours at Sea, Loses Best Pal

Rob Quinn — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:10:44 CDT

A Texas man is mourning the best friend he had to abandon in the Gulf of Mexico to save his own life. After their boat sank on a fishing trip, ex-Marines Ken Henderson and Ed Coen spent more than 30 hours treading water and drifting with their life jackets tied...

Ship Accidents Knock Countries Offline

Kevin Spak — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:37:05 CST

At least nine countries have suffered telecom outages this month, following a pair of accidents in which ships severed essential undersea cables, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the most recent incident this weekend, a ship dragging its anchor off the coast of Kenya caught on and destroyed a fiber-optic...

238 Saved, 112 Still Missing in Ferry Wreck

Kevin Spak — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:10:05 CST

Rescuers have managed to find 238 survivors of the ferry that sank off Papua New Guinea yesterday and get them to safety—but that still leaves 112 of the 350 who were aboard the Rabaul Queen unaccounted for, the New York Times reports. Search teams, which are using three ships,...

Papua New Guinea Ferry Sinks With 350 Onboard

Rob Quinn — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:23:47 CST

Hundreds of people are missing and feared dead after a ferry with up to 350 people on board sank off Papua New Guinea's northern coast. Merchant ships that arrived on the scene after the Rabaul Queen sent a distress signal have rescued 28 people, and helicopters have joined the operation,...

7 Die as Kenyan Boat Capsizes

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:06:55 CST

Rescue personnel scoured Kenya's coastal waters today after a passenger boat collided with a ship carrying oil drums and capsized, killing at least seven people. Kenya's Red Cross said 82 people were on the capsized boat. More than a dozen people were missing and feared dead; 48 survived. The boat...

250 Migrants Fleeing Libya Missing at Sea

John Johnson — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:36:50 CDT

Unintended casualties of the fighting in Libya: About 250 African refugees fleeing the violence remain missing at sea after their boat capsized near Italy. Authorities managed to rescue about 50 people off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, reports the BBC , but they estimate that 300 people were...