A family's peaceful night aboard their boat anchored off Cape Cod turned to horror when they were awoken by barking dogs, fireworks, and smoke, only to discover their vessel on fire.
Tyler Sullivan and his parents, Patrick and Cynthia, plunged into the water on Monday night, swimming through the darkness towards a nearby island. While Tyler and Patrick Sullivan survived the ordeal, Cynthia "Cici" Sullivan, 73, sustained severe injuries and tragically died on Thursday at a hospital, a spokesperson for the Cape & Islands district attorney’s office confirmed.
Patrick Sullivan, who was also injured in the fire, is awake and breathing without help, his family posted on Facebook.
Once the Sullivans reached the tiny island, they hunkered down in a barn and waited for help. They had left Falmouth on Friday and planned to return Tuesday after spending the weekend anchored close to Naushon Island, the largest in a chain of islands between the Massachusetts mainland and Martha’s Vineyard.
By Tuesday night, relatives began to worry when the family hadn't returned and the Coast Guard joined local authorities in a search. Other boaters were alerted to the search efforts Tuesday night, according to audio provided by Broadcastify.com.
“Mariners are requested to keep a sharp lookout and assist if possible, and report all sightings to the Coast Guard,” the alert said.
It wasn't until Tyler Sullivan found a marine radio washed up on the beach that he was able to call for help Wednesday.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday! Our ship went down in Tarpaulin’s Cove!” he told a Coast Guard dispatcher, noting that he and his parents had taken shelter at a farmhouse. “Our ship burned while we were sleeping and we barely escaped!”
The dispatcher asked Sullivan about his parents’ medical conditions and whether they were able to move around or sit up.
A Coast Guard helicopter rescued the family and flew them to a hospital. Sullivan’s brother, Chris Sullivan, initially told WCVB-TV that his mother was in critical but stable condition. But he confirmed on Facebook that she had died.
“We played her some John Mellencamp as she passed, he was her absolute favorite, she adored him,” he wrote. “This hurts more than anything I could have ever imagined, I am leaning on my close friends and family and my two young children. We will get through this together.”
Scott Backholm, a search and rescue mission coordinator with Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, credited the family for how they responded to the fire.
“Quick thinking and having quality equipment allowed the family to survive and call for help,” he said in a statement.
Chris Sullivan praised his brother’s actions.
“My brother saved both of them, he was able to get them off the boat under extremely chaotic circumstances, he doesn’t want to be called a hero, but he is,” he wrote on Facebook.
Authorities say the matter remains under investigation.
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