Video captures rescue and tritoon boat recovery off of Fort Myers Beach

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. —

New video captures the moments first responders and good Samaritans rescued 11 people after a double-decker tritoon capsized near the old pier off of Fort Myers Beach.

Body camera video shows deputies pulling the people out of the water. LCSO worked with the Coast Guard to get them all to safety. Deputies said the water and wind likely caused the boat to flip over on Tuesday.

After the rescue was complete, Israel Andujar and the team with Sea Tow got out to the boat, which they said was quite the challenge.

"This presented a whole degree, a different level of challenge because of the power and how it dug in the sand and how it kind of acted like a parachute, even though it doesn't look like it," Andujar said.

By the time Andujar and his team managed to secure lines on the boat, the currents were pushing them, making the task even more difficult.

"The boat would be drifting, or my boat would be drifting. The currents were pushing us," Andujar said. "At one point, I had anchored out my boat, swam to this boat, adjusted lines for the other guy, swam back to my boat, and I needed fins."

Eventually, the team succeeded in flipping the boat right side up, a hard-earned victory that Andujar hopes will serve as a reminder to boaters about the power of gusts on the Gulf.

"It could happen to anybody," Andujar said. "It's just maybe watching out, you know, the Coast Guard puts out the messages on, you know, how the wind is, how the water is, and just kind of be more aware of what you're getting yourself into when you go out in the Gulf."

The boat's owner and some passengers visited the site to take photos of the boat, but chose not to go on camera for an interview. They seemed to be in good spirits despite the incident.

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