JUPITER, Fla. — Nicholas “Nick” Pavlakis said he was in the right place at the right time when he helped to rescue 10 people after a seaplane crashed into a seawall on Saturday in the Bahamas.

A 2014 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Seaplane operated by Fort Lauderdale-based Tropic Ocean Airways also collided with a dock at about 10 a.m. near a resort in North Bimini.

“We heard some panicking people waving, and then we saw the seaplane drifting,” Pavlakis, 30, told WPBF.

Pavlakis, of Palm Beach County, is the general manager of Jupiter-based Marine Max, a boat retail chain for yachting, fishing, and leisure craft.

“I grabbed the four closest guys I had to me, a couple of locals, a couple of people in our group,” Pavlakis said, adding that a captain on a dinghy also helped.

The group managed to evacuate the seaplane owned by Texas-based FloatSix Leasing before it sank in deep water. The Royal Bahamas Police Force responded.

Palm Beach man helps rescue 10 after Fort Lauderdale seaplane crashes in Bahamas

About The Author

Kristi Krueger

Andrea Torres