Associated Press
MIAMI 鈥� The U.S. Coast Guard said it was beginning a salvage operation on Tuesday while investigating the cause of a that left two girls dead, one of whom was identified by family friends as the granddaughter of prominent Argentine television producers.
Capt. Frank Florio, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami, assured the victims鈥� family members during a news conference that the Coast Guard and its partners would do everything in their power to learn what caused the crash.
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鈥淲e owe you answers, and we are committed to finding them,鈥� Florio said.
Officials didn鈥檛 immediately identify any of the victims or release a cause for the crash.
The collision between a barge and a sailboat occurred around 11 a.m. Monday in Biscayne Bay, between Miami and Miami Beach. All six people on the sailboat, a teenage sailing camp counselor and five children, ended up in the water. They were in their last week of a camp for children aged 7 to 15, according to the Miami Yacht Club.
All six were pulled from the water, and four were rushed to a Miami hospital, officials said. A 7-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl were pronounced dead shortly after arriving, while two other girls, ages 8 and 11, remained in critical condition Tuesday. A 19-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl were rescued but not hospitalized.
Local media and prominent TV personalities in Argentina identified the 7-year-old girl killed in the boating crash as Mila Yankelevich, the daughter of director Tomas Yankelevich and actress Sofia Reca and granddaughter of the prominent Argentine television producers Gustavo Yankelevich and Cris Morena.
Marcelo Tinelli, a popular TV host and friend of the family, posted on X that he was 鈥渄evastated鈥� by Mila鈥檚 death.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe it,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淢y immense love to the entire family, who are part of my life.鈥�
Actor and presenter Nicol谩s V谩zquez, currently starring in the musical 鈥淩ocky鈥� produced by Gustavo Yankelevich, expressed his heartbreak on Instagram.
鈥淢ila鈥檚 passing is one of those tragedies that hurts to the soul,鈥� he wrote. Addressing Yankelevich he added: 鈥淓ven if we are not blood relatives, what we feel makes us brothers.鈥�
Across the U.S. last year, there were over 550 deaths in recreational boating, but only a sliver of those 鈥� 43 鈥� were caused by vessels crashing into each other, according to Coast Guard statistics.
