HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Diane Rezaii and her husband were boating last Sunday when they spotted a group of 11 people in the water near Beer Can Island. Once they got closer, they realized they were clinging to a capsized boat.
There were both adults and children in the group. Some of them were clenching onto the overturned boat.
“First thing I did was call 911,” Rezaii said.
Another boat had already pulled over and started to help. Rezaii and her husband joined in and began pulling people from the water into their own boat.
“We have a long pull that we used and they would grab on the pole and just pull them onto the back of the boat," she said.
Rezaii said the group was extremely thankful someone stopped to help them.
“They kept saying thank you, thank you, they were very worried about the grandma,” Rezaii said.
She said the water was rough and very choppy that day.
“The current was fast, the water was fast," she added. “It was pretty treacherous out there that Sunday."
When the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit arrived, they were able to pull the two men who were still holding onto the upside-down boat to safety.
“They were pretty exhausted I think and pretty nervous,” Rezaii said.
HCSO said one of the men who was rescued did have chest pain. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue's Marine Unit transferred him to the hospital.
Deputies took the other family members to the Apollo Beach Marina. The HCFR Marine Unit, the U.S. Coast Guard and Sea Tow all helped in the recovery of the boat.