2 Men Plucked From Water After Boat Sinks

PALM HARBOR, FL — A distress call from two boaters in water about 6 miles offshore of Dunedin Tuesday afternoon sent the Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies and other first responder into action.

According to the sheriff’s office, a 911 call came in from the men around 4:30 p.m. Aug. 8. The two reported their 18-foot Glasstream was taking on water in the Gulf of Mexico.

Using GPS coordinates provided by the men, marine unit deputies were able to find the two in an area known as the Dunedin Reef. The men, Mohammed Sameni, 26, and Nicholas Dudas-Szabo, 25, were both wearing life jackets and were found floating about 50 yards away from their submerged vessel.

Get the Palm Harbor Patch newsletter and alerts in your inbox. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

Palm Harbor Fire Rescue and officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also responded to the scene with rescue boats. The two men, who are both from Palm Harbor, were plucked from the water and taken to Dunedin Marina. Neither was injured, the sheriff’s office reported.

Sameni and Dudas-Szabo told deputies they had rented the boat from the Pirates Cove Marina earlier in the day. They were fishing with the boat anchored when the vessel began taking on water.

What caused the boat to take on water is still under investigation, the sheriff’s office said. As for the boat, it remains submerged on Dunedin Reef. The U.S. Coast Guard has been notified to help warn mariners who venture into the area of the potential hazard.

No further information is available at this time.

Keep up with what’s happening by following Palm Harbor Patch on Facebook.

Photos courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office