Imagery & Audio Available: Coast Guard rescues two boater near Tillamook Bay, Ore.

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 02/13/2019 04:37 PM EST

united states coast guard 

News Release  

U.S. Coast Guard 13th District PA Detachment Astoria
Contact: Coast Guard PA Detachment Astoria
Office: (503) 861-6380
After Hours: (206) 220-7237
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Coast Guard rescues two boaters near Tillamook, Ore.

Coast Guard crewmembers aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat transit out of Tillamook Bay, Ore., responding to a search and rescue case near Netarts Bay, Ore., Feb. 13, 2019. Coast Guard crewmembers aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat transfer two people who were rescued near Netarts Bay, Ore., to awaiting EMS at the docks at Station Tillamook Bay in Garibaldi, Ore., Feb. 13, 2019.

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"MAYDAY" Audio file here: Transmission

WARRENTON, Ore. — The Coast Guard rescued two recreational boaters in distress near Netarts Bay, located about 5 miles southwest of Tillamook, Wednesday morning.

Watch-standers at the Sector Columbia River Command Center received a Mayday call from a handheld maritime radio at 8:45 a.m., and immediately directed the launch of two 47-foot Motor Life Boat crews from Station Tillamook Bay and a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station Astoria.

A man and woman were fishing off a jet-propulsion type personal watercraft near Netarts Bay when they pushed into the surf and were flipped over by a wave, causing them to fall overboard.

The man had a small marine radio which he used to make a Mayday call and help direct rescue crewmembers to their location.

Crewmembers from Station Tillamook Bay safely recovered the two people in distress, who were reportedly shivering but responsive, at 9:27 a.m. and transported them to Station Tillamook Bay in Garibaldi to awaiting Emergency Medical Service technicians at 10:06 a.m. for further medical attention.

“There wasn’t anybody else out there today,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Bradley Larson, who assisted in the rescue. “If not for the life-jackets, wetsuits, and especially the radio, our chances of finding them, before they succumbed to hypothermia, would have been very slim.”

-USCG-