A U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) aircraft crew was called in to rescue seven adults and one child after their boat capsized 36 miles west of the Boca Grande, Florida, coastline on Saturday.
Boaters reported a 28-foot boat capsized and sank off the coast of Boca Grande, near Fort Myers, U.S. Southeast Coast Guard officials said in a press release.
After the boaters activated their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs), a crew member from an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter based at Air Station Clearwater focused on the signals coming from the boaters’ personal position indicating beacons.
Crews said they checked the beacon’s strobe light and found all eight people wearing life jackets and holding on to coolers.
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Airmen from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater rescued one child and seven adults Saturday after a 28-foot boat capsized 36 miles west of Boca Grande, Florida. (USCG Southeast)
Footage of the dramatic rescue operation shows a USCG helicopter hovering above the stranded boaters and plucking them from the water.
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The aircraft’s crew said they pulled everyone from the water and transported them to emergency medical services at Venice Municipal Airport.
The U.S. Coast Guard said there were no reports of injuries.
The Coast Guard District of St. Petersburg, Florida, received the boaters’ distress call on VHF-FM channel 16. (USCG Southeast)
Petty Officer 3rd Class Santiago Gomez of Coast Guard Public Affairs Detachment Tampa Bay said the sailors were carrying all necessary life-saving equipment.
“The distressed mariner was carrying most of the life-saving equipment we encourage the public to carry on board their vessels,” Gomez said. “Life jackets, EPIRBs, PLBs, visual signaling devices and marine radios with VHF-FM channel 16 enhance Coast Guard crews’ ability to locate distressed mariners and improve the chances of a positive outcome in returning them safely.”
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“Today marks the start of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, and these safe boating practices will make a difference all year long,” he said.
