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Third Young Sailor Dies After Biscayne Bay Barge Collision

Enforcing a 250-yard safety perimeter, the Coast Guard evaluates commercial salvage plans after a third child died from injuries sustained in the Biscayne Bay collision.

Emergency crews on Hibiscus Island respond to the boating incident July 28.
A U.S. CostGuard vessel (far right) seen next to a barge that hit a sailboat that sank off Miami Beach’s Hibiscus Island in Biscayne Bay on July 28, 2025. Five children and a camp counselor were aboard the sailboat, part of a Miami Yacht Club summer camp. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/TNS)
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Overview

  • Arielle Mazi Buchman, 10, succumbed on August 3 to critical injuries from the July 28 strike of a construction barge against her Miami Yacht Club summer sailboat.
  • Two other campers, aged 7 and 13, drowned shortly after the crash near Hibiscus and Monument Islands; a fourth child has been released from hospital and the counselor was unharmed.
  • The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the probe into the rare vessel-to-vessel accident with support from invited Argentine and Chilean maritime authorities.
  • Commercial salvage firms must submit detailed removal proposals for Coast Guard approval before lifting the submerged sailboat to prevent environmental or navigational hazards.
  • The collision’s severity has prompted calls for stricter navigation protocols and enhanced safety measures in youth recreational boating programs.