USCG File Photo
NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard rescued three Belle Chasse natives and their dog after their fishing vessel sank near South Pass, in the Mississippi River Delta.
Rescued were Marvin DuWayne, 25, Marvin Parker, 57, Samuel Moran, 34, and a pit bull puppy.
At approximately 6:40 p.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a mayday broadcast from a mariner stating their vessel had begun sinking after reportedly striking rocks near South Pass. The watchstanders attempted to contact the vessel on the radio for more information with no success. Shortly following the mayday broadcast, watchstanders at the Eighth Coast Guard District command center received distress notifications from an Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon and a Digital Selective Calling Distress Alert registered to the 41-foot fishing vessel Nixie. The EPIRB and DSC were indicating the vessel was in the vicinity of South Pass.
The following resources were dispatched to locate the Nixie and her crew:
- An MH-65C helicopter and crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans;
- A 33-foot Special Purpose Craft – Law Enforcement and crew from Coast Guard Station Venice;
- Coast Guard Cutter Sturgeon, an 87-foot Marine Protector Class coastal patrol boat, homeported in Grand Isle.
- A Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries small boat and crew;
At approximately 8:40 p.m., the crew of the helicopter sighted three people and a dog on the beach at the entrance to South Pass. The survivors were hoisted by the helicopter crew and taken to Air Station New Orleans.
“The main factor that led to the Coast Guard finding the survivors was the vessel being outfitted with the proper safety equipment,” said Lt. j.g. EvelynAnn Bruno, command duty officer at Sector New Orleans. “Not only did they have a properly working VHF radio, but they had a functional EPIRB and DSC, which provided the Coast Guard with the exact position where their vessel sank.”
