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| News Release |
Date: April 17, 2008
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Clearwater Coast Guard Rescues Three From Gulf CLEARWATER, Fla. - A rescue crew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater rescued three boaters after their fishing vessel sank approximately 50-miles southeast of Apalachicola, Fla., in the Gulf of Mexico at about 5 a.m. Thursday. A watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Mobile, Ala., received an emergency-distress signal from a Digital Select Calling (DSC) device on board the 38-foot fishing vessel Elizabeth Mae, reporting that the vessel was taking on water. Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala., launched a HU-25 Falcon rescue jet crew, Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater launched an HH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew and the Coast Guard Cutter Seahawk, homeported in Carrabelle, Fla., was also launched to assist in the rescue of the three boaters. The Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater rescue helicopter crew medically evacuated two boaters from a life raft that was on board the Elizabeth Mae. The third boater was found clinging to a cooler and was hoisted by the rescue crew. The helicopter crew transported the boaters to Apalachicola Airport. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the incident is under investigation. ***Media Note: The Coast Guard Cutter Stingray conducted a safety inspection on the Elizabeth Mae in early February and noted a discrepancy that the vessel had no life raft on board. The acknowledgment of this discrepancy may have saved the lives of the Elizabeth Mae crewmembers today.*** ###
Guarding the coast and saving lives since 1790 -- the United States Coast Guard |
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