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Thirty-seven-year-old Michelle Passante drowned in a vessel accident after her boat flipped over. She became trapped inside the small cabin of the vessel.
There were seven people aboard the boat when an afternoon storm caused 5-foot waves. The motor boat capsized in the Gulf. The U.S. Coast Guard was able to bring Passante’s body back to the Pascagoula station, along with four of the survivors. Two of the other survivors swam from the boat to a nearby oil rig and climbed on. They were also picked up by the Coast Guard.
Some of the survivors were transported to local hospitals for treatment for their injuries, but there were no serious injuries reported following the boat accident.
A call for help was received by the Coast Guard, reporting that a 21-foot Mako had capsized 27 miles south of Petit Bois Island at approximately 3:30 PM on Wednesday, August 12, 2009. The Coast Guard deployed a large cutter, helicopter and an airplane in the rescue attempt.
According to Jeffery Cole, senior chief petty officer in charge of the cutter, “the seas literally went from flat calm to 4 ½ or 5-footers in a matter of 45 minutes. It was pretty bad – heavy rain and frequent lightning. It hit us and we were only 20 miles west of the vessel.” He said that he was informed that the motor boat was swamped by high waves.
