Stranded Boaters Fend Off Sharks During Rescue

Two people from a sunken fishing boat were fending off sharks in the Gulf of Mexico when a crew rescued them and one other person from waters off the Louisiana coastline, the Coast Guard said. The agency launched a search after a relative reported that the three men failed to return from a fishing trip Saturday evening, per the AP. The 24-foot fishing boat sank about 10am Saturday and stranded the three people without communication devices, the Coast Guard said. The three were wearing lifejackets and one was showing signs of hypothermia when they were rescued Sunday about 25 miles offshore from Empire.

The Coast Guard boat crew saw two of the people fending off sharks, and both had hand injuries. The boat crew pulled them from the water, and the third boater was lifted to safety by the helicopter crew. The two injured people were taken to University Medical Center New Orleans, where they were listed as stable. The Coast Guard did not release their names. “If the family member had not notified the Coast Guard, and if these three boaters were not wearing life jackets, this could’ve been a completely different outcome,” said Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Keefe, a Coast Guard search and rescue mission coordinator.

(More Coast Guard rescue stories.)