FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) \u2014 Rough waves flipped a pontoon boat packed with people off the coast of Fort Myers Beach.<\/p>\n
Lee County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputies and a U.S. Coast Guard crew responded in rescue boats on Tuesday and found 11 people in the water.<\/p>\n
Rescuers were able to gather everyone from the surf and bring them to shore near the Gateway Villas.<\/p>\n
Steve Collins, who is visiting from Boston, said he did not have a water rescue on his agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looked like an episode on TV that you\u2019d see that a police boat was pulling over somebody,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was nothing on the land, there was just water. There were at least four police boats but \u2013 there were four that were just circling around and around and around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two of the passengers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.<\/p>\n
Deputies blamed rough waves and high winds for overturning the vessel.<\/p>\n
Crews managed to flip the boat back upright and towed it away.<\/p>\n
As of Wednesday afternoon, it remains unclear on the conditions of those hospitalized. <\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n
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