This is a nightmare. We’ve all seen movies or read stories where people are lost at sea for hours, to even days, having to do what they can to survive.
But what would make a situation like that even worse?
Having to fend off sharks the whole time so you don’t get eaten alive.
That’s the exact scenario these three boaters found themselves in for a whopping 28 hours.
According to a U.S. Coast Guard press release, a family member of one of the boaters had contacted them after they didn’t make it home from their trip on Saturday.
That’s when the Coast Guard set out to find the lost boaters via Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi HC-144 aircrew, when they were discovered approximately 25 miles off the shore of Empire, Louisiana.
Once located, they sent out a 45-foot Response-Boat Medium boatcrew to rescue them.
Once the boat arrived, they saw two of the boaters fending off sharks, and both boaters had injured their hands in the process.
Luckily enough, the boaters were transferred to the hospital to be treated for their injuries, and they were all in stable condition.
Their 24-foot center console boat reportedly sank at 10 AM on Saturday, leaving them with no source of communication.
Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Keefe weighed in on the rescue mission:
“We searched an area roughly the size of Rhode Island and are thankful to have found these missing boaters. 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.
We appreciate the assistance of the boating public, who were instrumental in helping identify possible areas where these boaters could have been operating before the vessel became in distress.”
I couldn’t even imagine the thoughts running through these boaters’ minds, as they tried to stay afloat for over a day, while also trying not to get eaten alive.
It truly is a miracle they were able to survive this one, and that the Coast Guard was able to locate them when they did.
This article by Brady Cox was first published by Whiskey Riff on 12 October 2022.
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