Mexico Yacht Crash 2012: Second Fatal Yacht Crash in Two Weeks Leaves Three Dead, One Missing
Just two weeks after five sailors were killed when their 38-foot yacht ran aground while racing near the Farallon Islands, the sailing community is facing another fatal yacht crash off the coast of Mexico.
According to IBTimes, a 37-foot sailing vessel involved in a 125-mile Newport, Calif. to Ensenada, Mexico yacht race apparently collided at some point Friday or Saturday night with a much larger vessel, leaving three crew members dead and one missing.
While the official cause and exact time of the crash still remains unknown, authorities say the boat, named The Aegean, disappeared from radar at around 1:30am on Saturday, which prompted officials into sending out a search party.
The Coast Guard reportedly discovered debris from the wreckage near Coronado Islands in Mexico.
Eric Lamb, one of the men who discovered the bodies, stated that based on the amount of debris at the wreckage site, it looked as if the boat had been put through a blender.
“It was real obvious it had been hit just because the debris was so small,” said Lamb who is a captain for a private company and an eight-year veteran of the race of the Mexico yacht crash. “Quite honestly, I’m amazed it hasn’t happened before. You get 200 boats out there, they lose their way, and they’re just bobbing around.”
As for the victims of the tragic 2012 Mexico yacht crash, the San Diego county medical examiner received the bodies and determined that Kevin Eric Rudolph, 53, of Manhattan Beach and William Reed Johnson Jr., 57, of Torrance, both died of blunt force trauma while Joseph Lester Stewart, 64, of Brandenton, Fla., drowned. The examiner noted that obvious head injuries contributed to Stewart’s death.
The boat’s captain, Theo Mavromatis, 49, is still missing but is presumed dead.
“There will be an investigation to determine exactly what happened. We’re just not sure at this point. We’re going to be looking into it,” explained Henry Dunphy, a spokesman for the United States Coast Guard. “Basically we’re searching around Coronado Islands. Last night it was a 10 by 10 area, this morning it’ll be expanding based on basically drift patterns would be in that area.”
According to the Newport Ocean Sailing Association, there were a total of 210 boats registered in the 65th annual yacht race from California to Mexico. The tragic crash and ensuing deaths were the race’s first in its history.
via IBTimes
