MIAMI — Four people were killed and 11 people were rescued after a boat capsized off the Miami coast early Wednesday morning.
The names of the dead and rescued are being withheld pending next of kin notification.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the deceased," said Capt. Austin Gould, commander of Coast Guard Sector Miami. "This tragic case reiterates the dangers of traveling aboard an overcrowded boat at night with no safety equipment on board."
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Miami received a report at about 1 a.m. from a Miami-Dade County 911 dispatch of the capsized vessel and launched a boatcrew from Station Miami Beach and an MH-65 helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Miami to respond.
The rescue crews arrived on scene, approximately seven miles east of Government Cut and rescued 11 people from the water. One of the survivors was medically evacuated to Station Miami Beach where emergency medical services awaited and transported him to a local hospital
The cause of capsizing is under investigation.