Yacht Explosion (6/11/12) Hoax?

[x4093k 654]

I hope this wasn't a prank on somebody. This kind of stuff is not funny. 5 Helicopters and 10 + choppers for absolutely nothing. The reporter on the news chopper was completely incorrect.

It could be good training, in other words.

http://www.huffingto...nk1&pLid=168964

Edited June 12, 2012 by x4093k

[Medic One 10]

With that many on stby it's got to be real.

If it were a stand-by drill there would be tables full of D&D Boxes of Joe.

[peterose313 345]

Coast Guard thinks it was a hoax.

Klinker says it's "highly unusual" for the Coast Guard to get this kind of position and get there quickly but not locate anything or see any sign of distress. He says it's unclear if a yacht called the Blind Date exists.

[TimesUp 148]

http://www.charterworld.com/index.html?sub=yacht-charter&charter=myblind-date-2481

It says the boat sleeps 10-12 to have 27 S.O.B. doesn't add up to 27 unless they have a crew of 15 which seems like a lot. Might be bogus

[CFFD117 19]

http://www.charterwo...blind-date-2481

It says the boat sleeps 10-12 to have 27 S.O.B. doesn't add up to 27 unless they have a crew of 15 which seems like a lot. Might be bogus

A yacht like that could easily entertain 27, many times charter yachts will be chartered for parties, where the number of guests on board exceed the amount of berths available. Reading the article, it does seem really strange that the Coast Guard would arrive to find no debris or life rafts in the water. Vessels such as these are also required by law to carry an EPIRB, which would enable to CG to pinpoint the vessel in distress' location and to have 200% capacity for life rafts/ life boats. to not be able to find anything, considering how much of the items on deck (cushions, teak furniture etc) would float, seems rather abnormal. Pretty mean joke if its not real or a training exercise

[TimesUp 148]

A yacht like that could easily entertain 27, many times charter yachts will be chartered for parties, where the number of guests on board exceed the amount of berths available. Reading the article, it does seem really strange that the Coast Guard would arrive to find no debris or life rafts in the water. Vessels such as these are also required by law to carry an EPIRB, which would enable to CG to pinpoint the vessel in distress' location and to have 200% capacity for life rafts/ life boats. to not be able to find anything, considering how much of the items on deck (cushions, teak furniture etc) would float, seems rather abnormal. Pretty mean joke if its not real or a training exercise

Thanks for clearing that up. I didn't know they were required to carry a EPIRB. Good stuff!

[NJMedic 96]

Part of this response. In the end a nice drill. Certainly sounded legit, Hoaxs are a hugh problem for the Coast Guard. Some pics at http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/seconds_of_panic_hours_of_dram.html

[PFDRes47cue 653]

This maybe a stupid question and I may be missing something but. The article states that after the boat lost power and sunk, the male who called it in made the call? How did he make the call from a sunk vessel? If GPS could not work because of no power on the sunken boat how did the radio?

[peterose313 345]

This maybe a stupid question and I may be missing something but. The article states that after the boat lost power and sunk, the male who called it in made the call? How did he make the call from a sunk vessel? If GPS could not work because of no power on the sunken boat how did the radio?

TV news said he used a solar radio.

[ny10570 745]

In hindsight there are absolutely holes in this guys story, but in the moment you have to take it at face value. I've been sent out on weirdly specific hoax calls and painfully vague actual emergencies. You take the information and if it sounds credible act on it. Now they can go about tracking him down and hopefully prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.

[peterose313 345]

Coast Guard Lt. Joe Klinker was interviewed on television and said they believe it was a hoax. A reported responded by asking how or why he thinks that and his response was "Uhh... cuz we didn't find anything." lol

[LTNRFD 266]

During the CBS 5 PM news (5:35PM), a Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Erik Swanson stated that the Coast Guard was on station and all 21 victims were accounted for. He went on to report that Coast Guard units were in the process of searching the area for the possibility of other victims. This was over a hour after the initial 4:20PM distress call.

Do you think there was a little miscommunication? Or could have this hoax been so well thought out that the person/persons involved used Coast Guard frequencies and terminology to provide bogus info to land units?

[JetPhoto 626]

Terrorist new weapon? calling in large scale false alarms to review response procedures. Perhaps for for future distractions? It wouldn't be the first time

[PEMO3 523]

NJMedic you probably have these answers. Is the NJ EMS Task force MERV staffed by volunteer or paid services? Where does it come out of? I agree, one needs to be suspicious that this was a response test by would be terrorists to see how fast and what type of response can be assembled. Summertime is coming up and Sandy Hook is right near all the beach resort areas on the New Jersey shore.

[PEMO3 523]

Interesting news this morning. Exact same story occurred in the Bahamas with a boat of 28 Haitian immigrants. This time it was founded: 11 dead, 13 missing, 4 made it to shore on their own. The CNN news story link: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/12/11-dead-others-missing-after-incident-with-haitian-migrants-boat/

[NJMedic 96]

The MERVs (we call them MABs) are operated by both career and volunteer agencies.

Bergen County - Valley Hospital EMS©

Passiac County - Wayne Memorial First Aid Squad (V)

Hudson County - Jersey City Fire Department ©

Hudson County - McCabe EMS ©

Essex County - Newark Fire Department ©

Essex County - Awaitng Delivery

Union County - Elizabeth Fire EMS Divison ©

Morris County - Morris County OEM (Hybird)

Middlesex County - Middlesex County OEM (Hybird)

Monmouth County - Keport First Aid Squad (V)

Monmouth County - Shark River Hills First Aid Squad (V)

Atlantic County - Atlanticare EMS ©

All are housed at the agencies facilities. Multi role missons as mass evacuations, incident rehab, on-scene care & transports.

[NJMedic 96]

Summertime is coming up and Sandy Hook is right near all the beach resort areas on the New Jersey shore.

Sandy Hook is part of the Gatway National Recreation Area along with sections in Staten Island and Queens/Broooklyn along the shoreline of Jamica Bay near the Belt Parkway and the small islands near JFK, Floyd Bennet Field, Fort Wadsworth, Jacob Riis Park. Not too far from Earle Naval Weapons Station. Ports for some hi speed ferrries between Manhattan and NJ. Anything with an Ocean beach is popular but I wouldn't considered it a resort area. More high brow areas down towards Belmar, Manasquan, Point Pleasent.

http://www.nps.gov/gate/index.htm

[JetPhoto 626]

Yacht Explosion Hoax: Coast Guard Offers Reward To Find Sandy Hook Distress Caller

Deputy Commander Gregory Hitchen said at a news conference that the search operation on Monday evening cost at least $88,000 and lasted more than four hours. He said the emergency calls came from a radio that was being used by someone on land, not on the water.

An investigation has begun to determine who was responsible, and the agency is offering a $3,000 reward for prosecution of the person responsible.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/yacht-explosion-hoax-coas_n_1589540.html?utm_hp_ref=new-york

[peterose313 345]

[x4093k 654]

Sounds like 2 different people. I wonder how this one will turn out..

[PEMO3 523]

Sound awful calm for someone post explosion with "3 confirmed dead and standing in 3 feet of water calling for help." Sounds scripted. At the end it seems like he said he was dealing with 2nd and 3rd degree burns. No indication of pain in his voice assuming he was the "burn patient". He also asks for 5 minutes to shout out to the people on the rafts while on a sinking vessel. They need to find this fool and prosecute him so no one else gets the bright idea to copy him.

[Jybehofd 85]

something seems really wrong with this. a rescue operation and least a good search at sea will take hours not minutes. its VERY hard to spot a liferaft at sea especially a small one from a small boat. to cancel a search and rescue op with units only on scene for less then hour seems fishy to me. The last search and rescue i was on we were assigned for a couple of hours. and we were searching for another ship... that had lifeboats. and a solar radio? i haven't seen them where they can send a signal over 17 plus miles. a vhf radio will get you to the horizon or a little better then line of site with a hand held. and a base or mobile ship based radio will get you sandy hook easly being 17 miles out at 100 watts. at 17 miles off shore it would take at least an hour for a boat to get there. depending on sea conditions, maybe 45 minutes at least.

and something else interesting.. boats just don't explode. i wondering if the charter owner has reported the boat over due?

Edited June 13, 2012 by Jybehofd

[PEMO3 523]

something seems really wrong with this. a rescue operation and least a good search at sea will take hours not minutes. its VERY hard to spot a liferaft at sea especially a small one from a small boat. to cancel a search and rescue op with units only on scene for less then hour seems fishy to me. T

The search actually lasted about 5 hours until the official search was called off. The Coast Guard continued to patrol the area for a while longer.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Jybehofd if you had read the news reports, during the investigation they were able to make contact with the owner of the boat with the name used. That boat was not sailing. Also there were boats in the area where the caller placed the distressed boat and they found nothing.

Here is the time line from nj.com: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/sandy_hook_boat_explosion_hoax.html

-- Shortly before 5:20 p.m.: Rescue helicopters arrive at the location, 17 1/2 miles at sea, followed a few minutes later by Coast Guard boats.

This spells out everything from the time the call was received until the end of the operation

[x4093k 654]

Just watching the news this AM. The Coast Guard is now investigating this with the one in Texas. They still have no track of who it came from or where it came from. I hope they get the person and charge them for it, theres absolutely no purpose for that, just a waste of money/fuel!

[JetPhoto 626]

The new form of domestic terrorism = major response false alarms

[EdAngiolillo 61]

The new form of domestic terrorism = major response false alarms

The official term is "swatting." Sorry, I have the memos on my work computer from our EMA people about this. Google it. Short version: hackers/losers/oxygen thieves use VoIP protocols to hack the phone line of the location they're staging the prank and call in a major emergency. The name "swatting" comes from the usual response of PD "SWAT" units.

[2231* 20]

stupid people these days....think its funny to waste taxpayer $$$