The US Coast Guard on Tuesday rescued three stranded boaters whose vessel capsized off the coast of Puerto Rico, officials said.
A Coast Guard chopper found all three boaters clinging to the overturned 18-foot craft named “La Chupi” when the guardsmen responded to a 911 call from the boaters around 8:11 a.m., officials said in a press release.
“The swift coordination and collaboration amongst all responding units, including Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action marine unit COBRA 54 led to the successful rescue of three individuals,” said Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Capestany of the Coast Guard Sector San Juan.
“The boater’s ability to establish communications with a 911 emergency operator and relay a precise location was instrumental to their rescue,” Capestany said.
A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter was dispatched and the cutter Richard Dixon was diverted to the scene after the distress call near Desecheo Island, about 13 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico, the agency said.
Puerto Rican police and rescue personnel were also notified.
The stranded boaters — Abdiel Alvarez, 21, Carlos Rosado, 23, and Jerry Mendez, 21 — were wearing lifevests and were pulled to safety without injury, the Coast Guard said.
The rescue comes two weeks after two people died and three others were pulled to safety after a boat capsized in the water near Sitka, Alaska.
Authorities said the two crew members were found floating in the submerged boat’s cabin.
