Two airboats collided in the Everglades. Watch and listen to the rescue

Broward County admin October 16, 2026 0 Comments

Two airboats collided in the Everglades. Watch and listen to the rescue

The Broward Sheriff’s Office has released rescue footage showing the response to a deadly airboat collision in the western Everglades earlier this month.

Two airboats collided at around 6:20 p.m. Oct. 2 while traveling through the wetlands of the Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area. One operator, 32-year-old Alessandro Borgo of New Jersey, was airlifted a hospital where he later died, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which is investigating the crash. Two others also were on the airboat.

Borgo was born in Brazil and had lived in the United States since he was 5, according to an online obituary. He worked alongside his father as a general contractor at Borgo Construction.

He was also an avid skier and snowboarder who competed as a snowboard racer at Rutgers University, the obituary said. In his free time, he enjoyed paddleboarding, fishing and country music.

The other airboat had an operator and one passenger on board.

The boats collided about 14 miles southwest of mile marker 41, in a remote area between Interstate 75 and Tamiami Trail, near the Miccosukee Indian Reservation. The Broward Sheriff’s Office coordinated the rescue response, deploying personnel from its Weston District, Marine Patrol and Aviation Unit. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue also sent an air rescue helicopter equipped with medical supplies and an airboat.

BSO Aviation located the injured people and guided the rescue crews to the crash site. Air rescue and airboat crews navigated the swampy terrain to reach the victims.

Aerial footage shows multiple airboats navigating shallow, grassy floodwaters, with the water low enough for people to walk through. At one point, a man is seen lying on top of an airboat as another man leans over him.

A rescue helicopter circles the area before a first responder, and the injured man are hoisted aboard.

Borgo and a dog died in the crash, while the injured man required immediate medical attention, according to the sheriff’s office. Paramedics stabilized the injured man before hoisting him into the helicopter for transport to a trauma hospital.

The FWC said the injured man was expected to recover.