Three Gulf of Mexico boaters are thanking the Coast Guard for their rescue from attacking sharks.
The unidentified men were reported missing Oct. 8 by a family member who reported they had left on their 24-foot center console boat.
The Coast Guard launched spotter planes, boats and helicopters to search for the group.
After searching an area roughly the same size of Rhode Island, the men were located Oct. 9 by helicopter. They had spent more than 24 hours in the water.
The men were finally located the Gulf, 25 miles off Empire, Louisiana, and about 55 miles southeast of New Orleans.
A rescue boat approached and when they arrived on the scene, they “witnessed two boaters fending off sharks, along with injuries to both boater’s hands,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “Two boaters were pulled from the water by the boat crew before additional injures could occur.”
A rescue chopper pulled the third man from the water and later recovered other two from the rescue boat. Two of the men had shark bites on their hands and one showed signs of hypothermia.
“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,” the Coast Guard said. “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.”
Last year, the Coast Guard came to the rescue of another fisherman in the Gulf.
An unidentified fisherman was 35 miles off Grand Isle, Louisiana, Sept. 3, when his fishing nets became entangled in the propeller.
Just before midnight the 64-year-old started to untangle them but fell overboard. As he tried to swim back to the boat a shark partially severed his leg.
He was pulled back onboard, and authorities were alerted. A rescue swimmer was lowered to the deck of the Moon Glow fishing vessel and collected the man. He was taken to the University Medical Center New Orleans in critical condition and is assumed to have survived.
Both locations have been marked on the 2022 Shark Attack Map.
