Man rescued from Delaware River by Good Samaritan, fire companies after boat capsized

A man has been hospitalized in "serious but stable" condition after his boat overturned in the Delaware River near Reedy Island Monday morning, the Delaware City Fire Company said. Initial reports stated that the boat was struck by another vessel, and the U.S. Coast Guard said it is currently investigating.

The fire company, along with Port Penn and Good Will Fire Companies, launched a rescue boat into the river after overhearing a mayday call to the U.S. Coast Guard at 8:40 a.m., a spokesperson for the fire company said. New Castle County Paramedics also responded.

Delaware City Fire Company said that the person who reported the incident rescued the unresponsive man from the water, taking the approximately 40-year-old aboard his tug boat, Miss Judy, and heading towards Delaware City. The injured man was transferred to the faster commercial boat Katy Lynn, and then later onto Fireboat 15, where he was treated by emergency personnel.

He was taken to Christiana Hospital after docking.

A spokesperson for the Delaware City Fire Company said that the river was foggy Monday morning, and the lack of visibility meant all boats had to rely on electronic navigation.

While the fire company is regularly called to the Delaware River for disabled vessels and people in the water, the spokesperson said that collisions are rare. He said the Coast Guard will likely look at what boats were sailing up and down the river at the time of the incident to determine what caused the boat to capsize.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Coast guard investigating possible collision in Delaware River