Frantic moment crew scramble to rescue passengers in Mexico bay after vessel capsized and four drowned

Dramatic footage has emerged of the frantic moment boat crew members raced to rescue 19 passengers after the speedboat they were traveling on capsized in Mexico.

The boat was carrying 17 tour passengers and two crew members returning from a trip to Isla Mujeres and were headed back to Cancún when the accident occurred on Monday.

Four passengers – all Mexican nationals – drowned and 13 others were taken to a local hospital for treatment. A female remained hospitalized as of Friday.

The boat captain, Ramón Cruz, was arrested moments after the incident.

A boating company worker was seen on video rescuing passengers on a tour vessel that capsized between Isla Mujeres and Cancún on Monday. Four passengers drowned and 13 other were saved along with the boat captain and a worker

Cancún tour boat captain Ramón Cruz was arrested moments after the accident on Monday. He appeared before a judge Thursday and was placed in pre-trial detention as Quintana Roo prosecutors and police continue to investigate incident that left four people dead

The video showed the 26-foot single engine 'Diosa de Mar' (Goddess of the Sea) boat flipped over in the middle of the bay with passengers wearing life jackets struggling to remain afloat the rough sea.

One of the workers was seen tossing a ring bouy and a passenger swimming to grab it soon after a yacht arrived on the scene to assist with the rescue efforts.

Another worker was also seen reeling in a larger floatation device with at least three people clinging on to it.

Cruz appeared before a judge Thursday and was placed in pre-trial detention as Quinatana Roo state prosecutors and police investigated the accident. He is scheduled to return to court February 5.

'During the journey, a wave allegedly caused people to move from place to place and due to the weight, water entered through the bow and sank the boat in which a total of 19 people were traveling,' the Quintana Roo State Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

Passengers from the tour boat that capsized in a bay between Isla Mujeres and Cancún were seen on video being reeled in to a rescue vessel as they hung on to a ring buoy

A paramedic provides oxygen to one of the victims who injured after the speedboat they were traveling on capsized between Isla Mujeres and Cancún on Monday evening

The Quintana Roo State Attorney General said the boat capsized moments after 'a wave allegedly caused people to move from place to place' and that the extra amount of weight on one side of the vessel allowed for 'water entered through the bow and sank the boat in which a total of 19 people were traveling'

The narrow straight between Isla Mujeres and Cancún is a busy waterway used by ferries, private pleasure craft and small charter craft.

The area is so busy and popular among tourists, and a number of accidentshave occurred there in the past.

In 2022, two American divers were killed near Cancún when a dive boat moved over them, despite flags and bouys warning they were there.

Two dozen tourists, including foreigners, were inured in 2018 when a crude bomb exploded aboard a passenger ferry in Playa del Carmen, the resort city south of Cancún.

British singer Kirsty MacColl was killed by a boat propeller while diving at Cozumel, across from Playa del Carmen in 2000.