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55-Foot Yacht Runs Into Balboa Pier

NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A 55-foot yacht carrying 13 passengers ran into the Balboa Pier at Newport Beach Sunday around 8:15 p.m.

The pier is located on the Balboa peninsula off West Balboa Boulevard.

Jeff Nguyen, reporting for KCAL9, said some of the passengers jumped into the water following the rough collision and had to be rescued.

One witness on the pier said, "I thought we were having an earthquake."

Nguyen spoke to fishermen as well as employees of Ruby's Restaurant -- an eatery that is located on the pier.

"I was serving upstairs tables. All of a sudden everyone started running down the stairs," said Annelise Hitchman.

"The boat was crashing into the wood posts, and was hitting it and you could hear 'Boom.' The whole pier was rocking. That's why the police told us to get off the pier," said Thomas Pan, a fisherman.

No one was seriously hurt in the collision.

"All of those persons rescued refused any further treatment and transport," Cpt. Glenn White of the Newport Beach Fire Department said.

The NBFD lauded the boaters for wearing life vests "which helped avert a possible tragedy."

The pier will be closed until city engineering personnel can view the damage and make a determination of the piers structural integrity, authorities said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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