Pontoon capsizes in OC inlet, officials give boating safety tips

OCEAN CITY, Md. – A fun afternoon at the beach turned scary for a pontoon, capsized with five people aboard.

Ryan Whittington with the Ocean City Fire Department said first responders raced to the rescue.

“Maryland Natural Resources, the police, the coast guard, and fortunately, our Ocean City Beach Patrol were in the area, and within minutes were able to deploy our surf rescue technicians into the inlet and get the victims that were in the water into their rescue buoy,” said Whittington.

The group was checked out by the Coast Guard and sent on their way. But beach patrol Lieutenant Ward Kovacs said they may not have been as lucky without their quick thinking and the quick response.

“Initially, we were afraid that the boat was going to hit the rocks, and the way the people were hanging on the side of it, it would have pinched them between the boat and the rock, so a really dangerous situation,” said Lt. Kovacs.

Whittington said there are steps you can take to prevent accidents like this and keep yourself safe.

You can ensure your vessel has a personal flotation device for each passenger, check weather conditions and with boating experts before hitting the water, and only travel with your boat on the safest route.

“Boaters should respect the Ocean City waterways,” said Whittington.

“You have to have that knowledge and experience and understand that the Ocean City inlet may look calm on top, but that current that’s moving through there, or even at the change, conditions can change very quickly in Ocean City,” he added.