Coast Guard 24 foot Special Purpose Craft – Shallow Water File Photo
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard medevaced an injured man from a vessel after it ran aground near Port Isabel, Texas, Thursday.
Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi command center watchstanders received a phone call from TowBoatUS at 9 a.m. stating that three mariners aboard a 15-foot boat had run aground on a sandbar south of the Queen Isabella Causeway. A 68-year-old man aboard the vessel had fallen, injured his finger and was experiencing chest pains.
Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. A 24-foot Special Purpose Craft–Shallow Water boat crew from Coast Guard Station South Padre Island launched to assist.
Once on scene, the Coast Guard boat crew embarked the injured man and one other boater, then brought them to the station. Awaiting emergency medical services personnel transported the injured boater to Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, Texas, in stable condition.
TowBoatUS personnel towed the aground vessel and took the third boater ashore.
“Laguna Madre is incredibly shallow and rife with sandbars,” said Coast Guard Lt. Anthony Moreno, operational unit controller for the case. “We urge all mariners to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the area and its hazards before getting underway, and to vigilantly monitor water depth during their voyage.”
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