A 13-year-old Chilean girl of Korean descent, Erin Victoria Koh Han, was killed in a boat collision while attending a youth sailing camp near Miami Beach, Florida.
According to local broadcaster WSVN, the accident occurred around 11 a.m. on July 28 in the waters off Star Island in Biscayne Bay. A sailing yacht carrying five youths aged 7 to 13 and a 19-year-old coach collided with a powered barge. The impact threw two teens into the water, including Han, who died despite wearing a life jacket at the time of the collision.
Han was a Chilean national who had attended San Pedro Nolasco School in Santiago before relocating to the United States last year.
She was participating in a youth program operated by the Miami Yacht Club. Following the crash, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) rescued six individuals from the water. Two teens, including Han, were pronounced dead, and one person remains in critical condition. Footage released by authorities shows the barge—approximately five times larger than the yacht—striking the side of the smaller vessel.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident and have conducted alcohol and drug testing on the barge operator. Some reports questioned whether the powered barge should have yielded to the non-motorized sailing yacht, which may have had the right of way under maritime navigation rules.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
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