Coast Guard rescues 3 people and a dog from capsized vessel
Incident stresses the importance of life jackets.

Posted Sunday, May 5, 2013

 

A boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Islamorada rescues three people and a dog from their capsized vessel in the vicinity of Barn Sound, Fla., May 5, 2013. Three people and their dog stood on the hull of their vessel waiting as the Coast Guard arrived on scene to rescue them from the water. U.S. Coast Guard photo illustration.

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MIAMI — Crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Islamorada rescued three people from a capsized vessel in the vicinity of Barn Sound, Fla., Sunday.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Key West, Fla., received a report of a disabled 21-foot motor vessel with three people aboard. Sector Key West issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast (UMIB) and launched a boatcrew from Station Islamorada and an Coast Guard Air Station Miami aircrew aboard a HC-144 Ocean Sentry to respond to the report.

The crewmembers aboard the Ocean Sentry arrived on scene and located the vessel capsized with three people and a dog on top of the hull. The boatcrew arrived on scene and safely embarked the capsized survivors, and transported them to Key Largo, Fla.

The capsized survivors were not seen wearing life jackets.

There were no reports of injuries or pollution.

The owner of the capsized vessel is communicating with commercial salvage to recover the boat.

The Coast Guard strongly urges all boaters to equip their boats with life jackets, a VHF-FM radio and the appropriate navigational charts. Boaters are also strongly encouraged to take a boating safety course and file a float plan before going out on the water.

For more complete information on safe boating, please visit http://uscgboating.org/. To learn how to get a free vessel-safety inspection from the Coast Guard Auxiliary, please visit http://www.vesselsafetycheck.org/.