A Coast Guard Station Islamorada boat crew rescues two Cuban fisherman Thursday, May 18, 2017, approximately 17 miles south of Grassy Key. (Coast Guard photo)
MIAMI — The Coast Guard rescued two Cuban fisherman Thursday 17 miles south of Grassy Key.
Watch standers at the Coast Guard Seventh District received a request for assistance from the Cuban Border Guard at approximately 8:30 a.m. Wednesday involving a 22-foot sport fishing boat with two people on board that was overdue from Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba. The watch standers diverted a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew to assist in the search for the vessel.
At 10 a.m. Thursday Coast Guard Station Islamorada received a mayday call from a disabled vessel south of Grassy Key matching the description of the overdue fishing boat. A Station Islamorada boat crew responded to the call and transferred the two fisherman to emergency medical services and U.S. Border Patrol in stable condition. They were then transported to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier. The two men reported they had been at sea for three days.
