
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, December 6, 1993                   TAG: 9312060079
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: POINT LOOKOUT, MD.                                LENGTH: Short

CHARTER FISHING BOAT SINKS IN MD.; 2 DIE

A charter fishing boat carrying 23 passengers took on water and sank in the Chesapeake Bay on Sunday. At least two people died, authorities said.

Some passengers had to wait up to two hours before being plucked from the rough, 50-degree water.

One passenger died after being admitted to St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown, said hospital spokeswoman Christine Wray. Another passenger, who was in full cardiac arrest when removed from the water, was pronounced dead at the Patuxent Naval Air Station medical facility, Department of Natural Resources spokesman Harry Rhule said. The victims' identities were not released.

Seventeen passengers and two U.S. Coast Guard rescuers were treated at St. Mary's Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Barbara Stepura. The remaining four passengers were taken to the air station's medical facility.

The El Toro II sank at 2:15 p.m. about four miles from shore. There were 6-foot waves and winds of up to 20 mph in the area, said Stan Fifield of the Coast Guard's Baltimore office.

Coast Guard rescuers found one person floating in open water, three people sitting on top of the sinking boat's cabin and 19 people hanging onto a life raft, said Petty Officer Joseph Callaghan. All were wearing life jackets, he said.

The 60-foot boat operated out of Ridge, said Cpl. Tim Cameron of the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Department. It probably was returning from Virginia waters, where the striped-bass season is still open, he said.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB