The US Coast Guard rescued a sailor and his canine stranded within the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida as Hurricane Helene barreled its means towards land Thursday.
The person and his pooch had been aboard a 36-foot sailboat that “turned disabled and started taking up water” Thursday afternoon, the USCG Air Station Clearwater mentioned on Fb.
Coast Guard crews responded to the boater’s misery name and rushed to the person’s location, roughly 25 miles offshore from Sanibel Island close to Fort Myers.
A profitable rescue try was made and the unidentified sailor and his canine had been saved and introduced again to land.
One of many rescuers snapped a pic of the person and his canine sporting life vests as a USCG helicopter flew overhead.
It was not clear the place the sailor was touring to or from however small craft advisories and hurricane warnings had been in impact within the space as Helene hovered close by.
A Small Craft Advisory signifies that wind speeds of 21 to 33 knots and or seas of 10 ft or larger are anticipated to provide hazardous wave situations for small craft.
Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Class 4 storm at round 11:10 p.m. Thursday.
The eyewall moved over the Huge Bend space and Florida panhandle with most sustained winds estimated at 140 mph.
The storm is forecasted to blast the area with hurricane-force winds with doubtlessly “unsurvivable” 20-foot storm surge and flooding rain.
Not less than one particular person was killed Thursday when a driver was struck by an indication whereas driving on Interstate 4 within the Tampa Bay space, in keeping with WTSP.
The lethal crash occurred simply earlier than 8 p.m. close to mile marker 1.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Workplace reported receiving over 20 requires water rescues because the US 19 hall in west Pasco started to flood by midnight, Friday morning.
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