NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – Authorities say two boaters were less than a half-mile from the brink of Niagara Falls when they were rescued from their disabled vessel by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.
Coast Guard officials say their Buffalo station received a call around 9:15 p.m. Monday reporting a 19-foot motor boat with two people aboard was anchored in the Niagara River less than 2,000 feet from the falls.
A crew from the Coast Guard air station in Detroit was dispatched to the scene, along with a Coast Guard vessel from Buffalo and boat crews from state and local police.
The river's shallow depth prevented the vessels from reaching the anchored boat. A Coast Guard helicopter rescued the two boaters shortly before midnight.
The boat remains on the river. The owner is arranging salvage with a commercial service company.
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