USCG Rescues 12 from Capsized Ship Off Pensacola
Two Coast Guard aircrews rescued 12 crewmembers from a capsized 170-foot research ship approximately 141 miles south of Pensacola, Friday morning.
Watchstanders for the 8th Coast Guard District received a distress call from an emergency position indicating radio beacon from the Seaprobe. A crewmember reported they were taking on water and were unable to keep up with the flooding. The 12 crewmembers abandoned ship and boarded three life rafts.
An HC-144 Ocean Sentry crew from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala., arrived on scene and remained there until helicopter rescue crews arrived.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from ATC Mobile airlifted five crewmembers and another Jayhawk crew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., launched and hoisted seven crewmembers. The two aircrews brought all of the Seaprobe crewmembers to ATC Mobile to await emergency medical services.
"When we arrived on scene we saw the hull sticking out of the water, and about a mile away, 12 crewmembers were on three life rafts tied together; our rescue swimmer assisted five into the hoist basket," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert McDonald, ATC Mobile flight mechanic. "They were covered in diesel fuel and extremely cold, but every one of them was wearing a life jacket."
EMS transported three crewmembers with medical concerns to the Providence Hospital in Mobile, while the remaining nine were reported as stable.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
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Source: http://www.uscgnews.com