Sinking sailboat with 6 aboard sends distress signal. Texas rescuers rush to water
As water swamped a sailboat off the coast of Texas, the captain sent out a distress signal and people on board abandoned ship.
Rescuers then rushed to the water.
Six people were boating about five miles off the coast of Freeport when their vessel began taking on water, the U.S. Coast Guard Houston-Galveston Sector said in a Sunday, Feb. 19, news release.
The sailboat’s dewatering pumps could not keep up with the flooding, rescuers said. The captain sent a distress signal on the radio just before noon, explaining the situation and asking for help.
The Coast Guard said it heard the distress call and sent a boat and helicopter to rescue the passengers.
As the beleaguered boat continued sinking, the passengers put on life jackets and climbed into a life raft to await rescue, officials said.
Video shared by the U.S. Coast Guard shows the boat slipping beneath the waves, with only the tip of the front still visible.
The Coast Guard arrived on the scene and rescued all six passengers, who were taken to Station Freeport, officials said. No injuries were reported.
“We can’t stress enough the importance of having reliable, efficient communication equipment on board your vessel,” Tyler Downes, communication controller for the U.S. Coast Guard Houston-Galveston Sector, said in the release.
“Every second matters during an emergency on the water,” Downes said, “and a marine radio can be a direct lifeline for you and everyone on your boat.”
The owner of the boat will salvage the ship, officials said.
Freeport is about 60 miles south of Houston.
