MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The Coast Guard says good planning by three fishermen helped rescue crews find them 45 miles off the Myrtle Beach coast.
Coast Guard crews rescued three fishermen Friday after their boat sank 45 miles east of Myrtle Beach, according to a press release from the Coast Guard. The fishermen reported their 33-foot boat, Aunt T, was sinking and had to abandon ship into their life raft.
The fishermen were able to alert Coast Guard watchstanders in Charleston through a radio beacon. Soon after, Coast Guard crews were able to communicate with the stranded fishermen around midnight via satellite phone.
A Coast Guard Air Station Savannah MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew launched and hoisted the fisherman from their life raft at approximately 1:19 a.m., the release states. They were taken to Myrtle Beach International Airport where EMS was waiting.
“The fishermen had a life raft, satellite phone and an EPIRB that directly contributed to us rescuing them so quickly,” said Lt. J.B. Zorn, the Sector Charleston public affairs officer. “Their safety equipment took the search out of search and rescue.”
The Aunt T was homeported in Jacksonville, Florida. The cause of the boat sinking in under investigation.
