Capsize Injures Three Coast Guardsmen
Three Coast Guardsmen suffered non-life threatening injuries Friday after their rescue boat capsized in the surf off Puerto Rico.
The search-and-rescue crew was responding with other local agencies to a report of two people in the water two nautical miles northeast of San Juan Harbor when the incident occurred.
The three-man crew of a Coast Guard 33-foot Special Purpose Craft/Law Enforcement was rescued by the crew of a Puerto Rico Police marine unit immediately after the incident north of the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The crew was transported to the Coast Guard Base San Juan to awaiting emergency medical services and is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
“Our priority at this time is to ensure that our Coast Guard crew is properly evaluated, looked after and provided with any needed medical care,” said Capt. Drew Pearson, commander of Coast Guard Sector San Juan.
The search for the two reported people in the water was suspended after local authorities completed their search of the area.
Sea conditions at the time of the incident were reported to be 6-9 feet. The Coast Guard is working to recover the capsized vessel.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
uscgnews.com