Terrifying moment 'illegally' operated tour boat crashes on top of an open-air sightseeing vessel injuring 29 people in Miami

This is the terrifying moment a tour vessel crashed into an open-air sightseeing boat in Miami earlier this month.

Twenty-nine passengers were injured, with one airlifted to hospital as a result of the 'gruesome' February 11 crash. 

New footage of the collision, which took place around Fisherman's Channel, shows the 'Obelix' tour vessel speeding directly over the 'Thriller' speed boat. 

One group on board the sightseeing boat, which takes passengers on tours at 4o miles per hour, were visiting from New York, their attorney Thomas Graham told NBC news. 

Graham said his clients suffered fractured bones, one lost consciousness, and another suffered a traumatic brain injury. They are now seeking unspecified monetary damages. 

The collision took place around Fisherman's Channel, and shows the 'Obelix' tour vessel speeding directly over the 'Thriller' boat

13 passengers were injured, with one airlifted to hospital as a result of the 'gruesome' February 11 crash

The boating accident near the Port of Miami has left 29 injured and more than a dozen hospitalized, officials said

The US Coastguard confirmed that the Obelix was operating illegally without a license. 

'Both boats in this instance just were not safe' Graham told NBC. 

'They failed to maintain a lookout, they failed to avoid a collision, they sped' he explained.

Adding: 'You can see on this video, that our client was lucky enough to take, that there was an extremely gruesome collision that, had safety been followed, was utterly preventable.' 

'When you're a captain out on the water, especially taking passengers for hire, you have to maintain a safe speed, maintain a lookout and avoid collisions, and none of that happened here on behalf of either boat.' 

Officials said they were deployed to the scene several miles from the seaport to transport survivors from the two boats to safety. 

In total, officials said, over 30 units responded to the early-afternoon crisis.

That response included an air rescue and several fireboats, along with vessels from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Wildlife Commission.

The tour, according to its website, provides 'the ultimate sightseeing experience', and, as its name suggests, is known for its daring rates of speed. An investigation into why the crash occurred is currently underway

Officials around that time revealed that the other vessel involved was a private one, but it has yet to be identified. It remains unclear whether occupants of that boat were also injured

Horacio Rodriguez, the Division Chief of MDFR, said his agency and the Coast Guard are investigating what caused the crash

'The patients who had no complaints were taken back to Bayside,' officials said, before revealing that paramedics transported a total of 13 patients to an area hospital

The patients were then brought the several miles from where the crash occurred back to shore, said Horacio Rodriguez, the Division Chief of MDFR.

'Our clients are actually from New York, they came down for a nice Miami weekend and unfortunately, they got into this horrible accident,' Eric J. Mausner who is also representing the victims said. 

Adding: 'It does look like the charter boat T-boned the Thriller boat, but the Thriller boat may have turned into the lane of the charter boat,' Masuner said. 

Adding: 'We have to do more investigation.' 

'We believe both bare liability, both failed to follow navigation rules,' Graham agreed. 

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the US Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.