Deadly Personal Watercraft Accident In Biscayne Bay

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A body was pulled from Biscayne Bay after Miami Fire Rescue checked into reports of a personal watercraft accident.

Just after 11 p.m. Sunday, someone on a sailboat spotted a damaged watercraft near the Julia Tuttle Causeway and called the police.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Miami Fire Rescue both sent crews to conduct a search.

"While the City of Miami was responding, a Miami-Dade fireboat was on the scene and they retrieved one body, a male in his 30s, from the water," said Miami Fire Rescue Captain Ignatius Carroll.

Miami Fire Rescue conducted a search of the waters of Biscayne Bay on the north and south sides of the Julia Tuttle Causeway looking for a possible second victim but they were not able to locate anyone.

"At this time this is under investigation," said Captain Robert Costa with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. "We have no idea whether he struck an object or anything."

Initially it appeared a second person might have been with the victim.

"Miami Fire Rescue searched north and south of the Julia Tuttle looking for a second person," said Carroll. "There was sufficient evidence to believe a second person was in the water. The search continued for an hour by fire rescue but we did not find anybody."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is leading the investigation.

The FWC has confirmed to CBS4's Peter D'Oench through a spokesperson that the victim was riding alone.

"It's not clear why the person was riding out there," said Carroll. "We are not sure if he was an experienced rider. All those questions will be answered."

Investigators will try to determine if the cause of the watercraft accident was a hit and run, or if the man hit something in the water.

The name of the victim is expected to be released by authorities before the end of the day.