Video shows daring rescue amid 6-foot waves from Hurricane Earl
A churning storm apparently didn’t stop a spear fisherman in the Caribbean from thinking he could brave the fierce winds and thrashing waves to haul in a good catch. But venturing into the raging waters quickly proved dangerous.
A Coast Guard aircrew rescued a fisherman stuck on the rocks just off Dog Island, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sunday. Six-foot waves, winds and low visibility made the rescue even more difficult.
The U.S. Coast Guard made a daring rescue of an injured spear fisherman off the coast of the U.S. Virgin Islands Sunday as 6-foot waves from Hurricane Earl crashed against the coastline.
The fisherman, a man in his 50s, was stranded and holding on to a jagged rock for dear life just off Dog Island, a couple of miles east of St. Thomas, according to the USCG.
He had ventured out with a friend in a 26-foot Grady-White fishing boat when, at some point, he got out to spear some fish and was quickly overcome by the intense 60-mph winds and towering waves. The thrashing weather scooped him up off his feet and threw him against some rocks, injuring him, authorities said.
The friend who had remained on board the boat relayed a 911 distress signal shortly before 8:30 a.m. that was picked up by St. Thomas emergency and a Coast Guard unit out of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, was dispatched.
Once on the scene, the rescue team attempted to toss a heaving line to the fisherman, but the rough waters from passing Earl made it impossible for the crew to get close enough to reach him.
Video taken from the Coast Guard vessel then shows a MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter move in and lower down a rescue swimmer outfitted with a harness, and in less than a minute the injured fisherman is grabbed off the rock, steadied and pulled up into the helicopter.
A Coast Guard 33-foot Special Purpose Craft and a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter on scene during the rescue of a spear fisherman from the rocks just off Dog Island southeast of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022. (Ricardo Castrodad/U.S. Coast Guard)
“This was a challenging case in a tropical storm with heavy seas, gusty winds and low visibility, but this is what the Coast Guard trains for,” said Lt. Shea Smith, Coast Guard aircraft commander. “… Fortunately, the survivor was able to hang on until we could arrive, and we are all glad that he is safe.”
He was transported to a hospital on St. Thomas for treatment, the Coast Guard said. The severity of his injuries was unclear.
Earl has been strengthening since skimming the northeastern Caribbean over the weekend, bringing with it torrential rain. AccuWeather forecasters predicted Tuesday that it will become the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season later this week. As of Wednesday morning, Earl was located 485 miles (775 km) south of Bermuda.
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