A tragic collision between a barge and a sailboat during a youth sailing camp in Biscayne Bay near Miami Beach, Florida, resulted in the deaths of three young girls and left another injured on the morning of July 28, 2025. The incident occurred around 11:15 a.m. between Hibiscus Island and Monument Island, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
On board the sailboat were six individuals, consisting of five children and a 19-year-old instructor. Upon impact, all six were thrown into the water and later rescued by emergency teams from Miami Beach, Miami, and Miami-Dade County. They were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.
Seven-year-old Mila Yankelevich and 13-year-old Erin Ko Han were pronounced dead upon arrival. A third child, 10-year-old Arielle Mazi Buchman, died from her injuries in the hospital on August 3, increasing the death toll to three.
Another child who was on the boat, seven-year-old Calena Areyan Gruber, was hospitalized. Calena, who had been trapped under the barge, was released from the hospital on August 1.
A 12-year-old girl and the instructor were also rescued but did not require hospitalization, according to Coast Guard officials.
Mila Yankelevich was the daughter of director Tomas Yankelevich and actress Sofia Reca, as reported by Argentina’s “La Nacion” newspaper. Erin Ko was a citizen of Chile. The medical examiner identified accidental drowning as the cause of death for all three children.
The children were participants in a summer sailing program organized by the Miami Youth Sailing Foundation in partnership with the Miami Yacht Club, which instructs children aged seven to 15 in sailing.
Surveillance video captured the barge hitting the sailboat, and witnesses, including young campers, reported seeing the occupants being thrown into the water. Enzo Piffartti, a nine-year-old camper, commented that many of the children were ejected and some needed hospitalization.
An eight-year-old witness reported hearing cries for help from under the barge’s crane after the collision. Some children were entrapped, prompting a large-scale rescue operation involving multiple agencies.
The Coast Guard established a 250-yard safety zone around the site, where the sailboat remained beneath the barge on Monday evening. Emergency responders, including scuba teams, were active at the scene throughout the day.
Emily Copeland, commodore of the Miami Yacht Club, stated that the organization was deeply impacted by the event. The yacht club will stay closed until further notice.
Captain Frank Florio, commander of Coast Guard Sector Miami, expressed, “The agency’s hearts are with the families of those lost and all affected.” He emphasized the necessity of learning from each loss in the maritime community.
The Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have initiated a comprehensive investigation into the collision. Officials are collecting information to analyze the incident and identify its causes.
Local boat owners, familiar with the area, frequently observed camp participants practicing during morning and afternoon sessions. A boat owner mentioned receiving regular greetings from the young sailors engaged in the program.
Although the boat owner did not witness the collision, she saw first responders heading to the location and realized it affected the sailing program’s children upon seeing the emergency response.
Coast Guard data indicates that fatalities from vessel-to-vessel collisions in recreational boating are relatively uncommon. In 2024, only 43 out of more than 550 deaths were due to such incidents.
The investigation is ongoing as officials continue to examine the factors that contributed to this fatal collision in the busy waterway between Miami and Miami Beach.
