Coast Guard rescues 2 after boat runs aground near Barnegat Inlet

One person suffered an undisclosed injury when a boat ran aground in New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay on Saturday, officials say.

The U.S. Coast Guard received a distress call after the incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. in the Oyster Creek Channel, which leads to and from the Barnegat Inlet, according to an agency release.

A Coast Guard rescue crew aboard a 29-foot Response Boat-Small was already underway when the emergency call came over marine-band radio.

The responders took the injured person and another passenger to Station Barnegat Light to awaiting emergency medical services.

“The daily training operations that we conduct allowed us to quickly get to this person and get them to the medical care they needed,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Rentenberg, officer of the day at Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light. “It’s a good feeling knowing we can be there to help the people who need us.”

In 2015, authorities warned boaters of shoaling — sediment build-up creating shallower water — in the channel. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the channel twice 2016 but warned of the presence of “dynamic shoals.”