iStockphoto / Robert Michaud
The Coast Guard arrived ‘in the nick of time’ to save three overdue boaters who went missing and ultimately spent over 24 hours in the water fending for their lives.
At the time the rescue crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Station Venice arrived, the men were actively fending off sharks trying to attack and 2 of the 3 men had already sustained shark bites to their hands. All three were suffering from hypothermia at the time as well having spent over 24 hours in the cold water fighting to survive.
When the three men didn’t return as expected from a fishing trip on Saturday, a Coast Guard search was launched spanning an area of 1,250 square miles. For the men, the fishing trip turned into a nightmarish experience around 10 am Saturday when their boat sank along with all of their communication devices. From there on out, it was all about survival.
Coast Guard arrives ‘in the nick of time’ to save 3 men from hungry sharks in the water after being stranded and fighting for their lives for over 24 hours
The Coast Guard Sector New Orleans shared video and pictures on Facebook of the dramatic rescue after showing up to find the men literally fending off sharks. Here’s video of the rescue along with the Coast Guard’s Facebook post (below) with additional pictures and information:
Here is that Facebook post from the Coast Guard:
If that isn’t loading for you then you can access the Facebook post directly right here.
The Coast Guard Sector New Orleans / U.S. Coast Guard Station Venice said that two of the overdue boaters pulled from the water were fighting off sharks as they rescued them. The rescue was a massive collaborative effort with U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi actually locating the overdue boaters and U.S. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans pulling the 3rd from the water. All three were then transferred to New Orleans for medical attention.
The 1,250 square mile rescue area is actually slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island (1,214 square miles) to give you a sense of just how large the search are was. The rescue operation was initiated on Saturday night when the boaters didn’t return and all’s well that ends well, right?