TIVERTON, MA—A morning of fishing ended badly when high seas flipped a 17-foot powerboat, dumping three people into cold water.
A flotilla of firefighters brought them safely to shore.
Firefighters received a call of a boat in distress off of Seapowet Beach at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
"When we arrived, they were sitting on top of their overturned boat," said Fire Lt. Josh Ferreira, who commanded the response. "They were wearing life jackets."
The call sparked a response from the Narragansett Bay Marine Task Force. As Tiverton launched its 19-foot powerboat, Middletown and Portsmouth fire departments also took to the water. The Coast Guard and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management responded as well.
Tiverton firefighters got to the three — two men and one woman — before other responders.
"They told us they were out fishing. As they were coming back, the weather changed," Ferreira said.
There was a steady chop on the water Wednesday morning. The wind was gusting to 20 mph over an incoming tide. Ferreira said the fire boat was not able to pull up next to the overturned boat, so the three needing rescue jumped into the water, swam to the rescue boat and were pulled in by firefighters James Miranda, Don Clark and Rich Silva.
"They had been in the water for about 20 minutes before we arrived," Ferreira said. "They were cold."
Water in the Sakonnet River was recorded at 53 degrees by the website seatemperatures.org.
The three were taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence for treatment of mild hypothermia.
The DEM hauled away the boat, Ferreira said.
Officials did not immediately release the names of those rescued. Besides hypothermia, they did not sustain other injuries, firefighters reported.
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