Officials: Fla. boat flips, about 28 people thrown

MIAMI — A boat filled with migrants from Haiti and the Bahamas capsized off the coast of Florida on Wednesday, dumping as many as 28 people in the water.

Thirteen people were pulled from the water off Fort Lauderdale, five of them unresponsive, the Coast Guard said. Those five were being taken to the hospital.

The boat flipped about 2 a.m. but the Coast Guard didn’t learn about it until another boater called more than 10 hours later. The boater said he’d pulled three people from the water and about 25 others were awaiting rescue.

Delray Medical Center reported it was treating two women pulled from the water — one in stable and one in critical condition. The hospital said it was expecting another helicopter but did not know how many patients might be aboard.

It was unclear where the boat was coming from or how many people might still be in the water. Rescues were taking place about 15 miles offshore and water temperatures by the afternoon were in the high 70s.

Two helicopters, a jet and three boats were involved in the rescue.