Boat sinks in Barnegat Inlet after operator reportedly strikes jetty

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two aboard a sinking recreational boat in the Barnegat Inlet on Thursday.

An agency spokesperson says the operator made a distress call over emergency radio after the boat was taking on water after reportedly striking the Barnegat Inlet jetty.

A Coast Guard crew in a 24-foot shallow water vessel responded from nearby Station Barnegat Light and attempted to dewater the vessel.

But they couldn’t keep up with the inundation, and a commercial salvage crew responded to transport the flooded boat back to shore.

The Coast Guard crew transported the two uninjured boaters, whose names were not released, to Station Barnegat Light.

“This was the perfect example of boaters being prepared for an emergency,” said Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Capestany, the command duty officer at Sector Delaware Bay, in a statement issued Thursday. “The vessel was equipped with a VHF-FM radio to call for help, and both people were wearing their life jackets. Boaters headed out on the water this Labor Day weekend should be as prepared for an emergency as these boaters were today.”