MIAMI — The Coast Guard suspended the search Tuesday for two men who were swept to sea in the vicinity of Eluthera Islands, Bahamas.
Coast Guard Seventh District Command Center watchstanders received notification from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force stating a 14-foot vessel with five people aboard overturned eight miles east of Eluthera Island Sunday. Three of the five people were able to swim to shore and notified RBDF that the other two were swept out to sea, and they did not see them wearing life jackets.
The Coast Guard launched a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew forward deployed at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) in the Bahamas, who searched for approximately eight hours covering roughly 200 nautical miles, when RBDF no longer requested Coast Guard assistance.
The Coast Guard strongly urges all boaters to equip their boats with life jackets, a VHF-FM radio and the appropriate navigational charts. Boaters are also strongly encouraged to take a boating safety course and file a float plan before going out on the water.
For more complete information on safe boating, please visit http://uscgboating.org/. To learn how to get a free vessel-safety inspection from the Coast Guard Auxiliary, please visithttp://www.vesselsafetycheck.org/.
USCG file photo
