Man killed after boat runs aground off Yamacraw  

Man killed after boat runs aground off Yamacraw  
The vessel "struck an object" several hundred feet from the Palm Cay marina

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A man was found dead in waters off Yamacraw Shores yesterday after the boat he and two other men were in struck an object several hundred feet away from the Palm Cay marina, according to police.

Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters said the three men departed the marina on a 40-foot Contender owned by one of them around 9.30am for a fishing trip.

The men were en route to the marina after wrapping up the trip around noon.

However, the vessel struck an object ad the men were thrown overboard.

The vessel continued unmanned and eventually ran aground into the yard of a residence in Yamacraw and burst into flames.

The Fire Services Department responded and extinguished the blaze.

Purported footage of the crash showed the boat, “Soul Mate”, in the yard with its engines afire, billowing smoke.

The boat eventually resembled a charred hull.

According to Peters, officers from the Marine Unit responded to reports of the crash and “fished a male, who was unresponsive, from the waters”.

A passing vessel rescued the two other men, who were unharmed.

Emergency medical personnel responded to the incident, but the surviving men declined to be treated at the hospital, according to Peters.

“That suggests that they were doing pretty well,” he said.

Peters said an autopsy would confirm the exact cause of death of the victim.

Police did not release the identities of the men, but said there were two Caucasians and a Black man.

The RBPF Marine Unit at the Palm Cay marina

The victim was in his 50s, according to police.

The incident comes more than a month after another man was killed in a boating accident off Andros.

In October, a man was killed and two off-duty marines were injured after their 16-foot vessel hit a reef off Moxey Town, Andros, around 8pm.

Not dissimilar to yesterday’s incident, the men were thrown overboard.

The victim, a resident of Andros, was found unresponsive near the damaged vessel.

Fishermen rescued the marines, who were transported to the clinic in Mangrove Cay and later airlifted to New Providence.

About Royston Jones Jr.

Royston Jones Jr. is a senior digital reporter and occasional TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. Since joining Eyewitness News as a digital reporter in 2018, he has done both digital and broadcast reporting, notably providing the electoral analysis for Eyewitness News’ inaugural election night coverage, “Decision Now 2021”.

1 comments

A terrible tragedy. Their boat probably hit a wood pylon under the water. A couple of Palm Cay’s wood pylons have fallen over into the water from the weather recently at the end of the Palm Cay Marina channel exactly where the men were found. Hopefully there aren’t more accidents like this at Palm Cay!

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