MIAMI — A Coast Guard aircrew located four survivors and is searching for an additional crewmember who was reportedly aboard a tug that sank about 53 miles north of Jamaica Monday.
Search-and-rescue coordinators at the Seventh Coast Guard District command center in Miami immediately launched an HU-25 Falcon jet crew to search for the U.S.-flagged tug, Betty, after receiving an emergency position-indicating radio beacon alert at 3:39 a.m.
The Falcon crew arrived on scene at 6:50 a.m. and located a life-raft near the vessel’s last known position. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew was sent to the scene and hoisted the four crewmembers aboard the helicopter. The men were taken to U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Assisting with the search for the remaining crewmember are:
- An HU-25 Falcon jet crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Mass.
- An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., deployed to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, in support of Haiti Relief Operations.
- An HC-144A Ocean Sentry aircrew from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala.
