Flares aid NY fishermen rescue
07/07/2021
Three fishermen have been rescued from their sinking boat in New York by Coast Guards with the help of flares.
One evening late in June, a 44-foot commercial fishing vessel Nite Nurse started taking water 72 miles off the coast of Montauk in Long Island.
The fishermen issued an emergency call that they were sinking. They put on emergency life jackets and took to their life raft as they abandoned ship.
The Coast Guard dispatched a Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew. They also sent an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aeroplane crew and a Coast Guard Cutter Kingfisher.
Despite the darkness, the helicopter team were able to find the fisherman with the use of flares. The group were lifted from their raft to safety. They were taken to Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod where they were also given medical examinations.
After the rescue, Lt. Banning Lobmeyer, pilot of the HC-144 Ocean Sentry aeroplane said, “This case was a success because these mariners did everything professional mariners should do to be found. They reported the problem early which led to a quicker response time from our crews. They stayed with their boat as long as possible before getting into their life raft, took and used flares and an EPIRB, and they were dressed appropriately in survival suits.”
The image is courtesy of the USCG.
