The Coast Guard rescued three boaters from the water off Louisiana on Sunday, two of whom were “fending off sharks” when rescuers arrived, reports the Maritime Executive.
The trio were on a fishing trip, but their 24-foot boat sank around 10 a.m. Saturday and a family member reported them overdue that evening, the Coast Guard said in a statement Monday.
Coast guard rescues 3 men from sharks
When crews aboard a helicopter and a 45-foot Coast Guard boat found them in the water around 2 p.m. Sunday, the boat crew “witnessed two of the boaters fending off sharks,” along with injuries to both boaters’ hands, the Coast Guard said.
The three were pulled from the water around 25 miles off Empire, Louisiana, which is south of New Orleans.
Rescuers used a boat and a helicopter, and the three were flown to a hospital in New Orleans, where they were stable, the Coast Guard said.
The sharks were reported to be blacktips, Coast Guard Petty Officer Ryan Graves said.
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Source: The Maritime Executive
