SAN DIEGO — The Coast Guard rescued two people whose boat ran out of gas and drifted aground in the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Friday.
A friend of the passengers aboard the stranded boat contacted Coast Guard Sector San Diego’s Joint Harbor Operations Center watchstanders just after 8 p.m., Thursday, to report the situation and that a woman aboard the boat was having an asthma attack.
Coast Guard Station San Diego launched a boat crew to assist, but the crew was unable to reach the 36-foot cabin cruiser due to shallow water depth.
A Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched to assist.
Once on-scene, the helicopter crew deployed a rescue swimmer to assess the situation. The woman was reportedly no longer having an asthma attack, but due to the lack of food or water aboard the aground boat, the passengers were hoisted into the helicopter.
The Jayhawk crew transported the passengers to Sector San Diego, where they were met by family members at 12:50 a.m., Friday.