Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Blind Date no show
Coast Guard cost for N.J. boat explosion hoax adds up to $318K
SANDY HOOK — The cost to the Coast Guard for the 5 1/2 hour search for 21 passengers reported to be in distress but never existed has been tallied at more than $318,000, officials said this afternoon.
Now, officials are offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for making the call, according to a statement by the First Coast Guard District in Boston.
The cost includes the operating expenses for the four helicopters and two rescue boats dispatched to the area where the yacht was reportedly taking on water following an explosion, the statement said.
It does not include the cost of the helicopters and rescue boats dispatched by the New York City Police and Fire Departments, Nassau County Police Department and the New Jersey State Police.
Nor does it include the cost of the six medevac helicopters and approximately 15 ambulances gathered in Sandy Hook to receive the wounded.
State Police said their response to the false distress call cost their agency about $16,570. That price tag includes the operating cost of four helicopters, one 50-foot vessel and troopers to operate them.
In all, approximately 200 first responders were involved in the emergency response, the Coast Guard said.
About 4:20 Monday the Coast Guard received two radio transmissions from a man who sounds middle-aged with a slight rasp declaring to be the only person on board the Blind Date yacht as it took on water. He sounds calm and matter-of-fact and claimed to be standing in three-and-a-half feet of water on the burning bridge of the vessel.
"We have 21 souls on board, 20 in the water right now," he says. "I have 3 deceased on board, 9 injured because of the explosion we’ve had."
Labels: in the news, jersey shore
