HOUSTON — Four people were rescued from the water and one was medevaced by the Coast Guard after the boat they were on became swamped just off Morgan’s Point in the Houston Ship Channel, Friday.
The captain of a pilot boat reported seeing five people in the water to watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Houston/Galveston at approximately 8:20 a.m., and that one of the five couldn’t feel his legs. An aircrew was launched aboard a rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Houston and a boatcrew was launched aboard a small boat from Coast Guard Station Houston.
A fire boat from the Houston Fire Department and two good Samaritan vessels in the area also responded.
The aircrew landed on a nearby beach and transferred the injured man from the good Samaritan vessel Surfboard to the helicopter and transported him to Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center for further treatment.
“We decided to land because that was the safest and most preferred method to transfer the patient,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Lay, pilot of helicopter. “The small boat from Station Houston brought him in to the shore and we transferred to the medical center from there. Considering the state of urgency, it was the quickest way we could get him the care he needed.”
The four other people were picked up by a crew from Sea Tow and transported to the Texas City Dike in good condition.
A Coast Guard Air Station Houston crew launches to medevac an injured boater in the Houston Ship Channel Friday June 28, 2013.
