ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Three fishermen were rescued by an aircrew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater near Great Inagua, Bahamas, Tuesday.
Coast Guard rescue coordinators received a report of an activated Electronic Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) around 10 p.m., Monday.
A helicopter crew was sent to the scene where they discovered three people aboard a 34-foot pleasure craft 16 nautical miles east of Crooked Islands, Bahamas. The vessel was headed to Long Island, Bahamas from Providenciales, Turks and Caicos when the vessel became disabled due to inclement weather. The vessel was crashing into waves and suffering damage while adrift for approximately 30 hours when the passengers aboard the vessel spotted the Coast Guard and fired a flare to assist the aircrew in locating their position.
The aircrew hoisted all three fishermen from the vessel and transported them to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. No injuries were reported.
“It’s important to note that this rescue was drastically different then last week’s rescue off the coast of Honduras, said Lt. Michael Feltovic, the Jayhawk’s pilot during the rescue. “These fishermen had an EPIRB and flares aboard, which allowed us to pinpoint exactly where they were rather than searching for hours.”
The boaters reported they ran out of food and water and were preparing to abandon ship due to damage from waves.
Please click here for information regarding the rescue off the Honduras coast July 3, 2013 where nine boaters were rescued after being found by a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules aircrew.
For additional boating safety tips, go to http://www.uscgboating.org.
