Coast Guard and good Samaritans rescue 19 people in the water

News Release

May 7, 2017 U.S. Coast Guard 8th District Heartland Contact: 8th District Public Affairs Office: (504) 671-2020 After Hours: (618) 225-9008

Coast Guard and good Samaritans rescue 19 people in the water

 

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard and good Samaritans rescued 19 people in the water near Santa Rosa, Florida, Saturday.

Coast Guard Sector Mobile watchstanders received a notification at 5:32 p.m. of a vessel with nine people aboard sinking near Choctawhatchee Bay. A good Samaritan responded and pulled all nine people out of the water but realized his boat was overloaded. Sequentially, Sector Mobile received another notification of another vessel sinking with 10 people in the water.

Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Station Destin 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew at 5:42p.m. and a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew at 6:04 p.m.

The boatcrew arrived on scene at 6:15 p.m. and took all nine survivors off the good Samaritans boat and transported them to Postal Point at Eglin Air Force Base. A second good Samaritan took the 10 people in the water aboard his vessel MAD DOG and transited them to Postal Point at 6:59 p.m.

There were no reported injuries.

-USCG-