In coordination with Beaufort County Marine Rescue, a Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Savannah successfully rescued five people and a dog on Sunday after their 23-foot boat ran aground near Fripp Island.
Coast Guard Sector Charleston received a distress call via cell phone around 2 p.m. from a person aboard the grounded boat.
Beaufort County Marine Rescue initially responded with an airboat crew, but their vessel experienced an engine failure upon arrival.
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A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter was dispatched to the scene and hoisted all seven individuals, including the two airboat crew members, and the dog to safety.
“Due to the high number of people, this turned out to be a fairly complex evolution that required multiple trips to the vessel in distress,” said Lt. Cmdr. Carl Luxhoj, Coast Guard Air Station Savannah aircraft commander. “Our crew did a great job of managing aircraft weight and power margin to conduct the hoists. Due to the impressive range of tides in the Lowcountry region, we recommend all mariners check tides and currents before going out on the water.”
They were transported to Beaufort Executive Airport with no reported injuries.
Beaufort County Marine Rescue later recovered their airboat and the grounded 23-foot boat.
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