WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Coast Guard rescued five people from the water after their boat capsized 15 miles off the coast of Cape Fear Tuesday.
Around 5:15 p.m., one of the victims from the 48-foot boat contacted watchstanders with Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, telling them that the boat was taking on water and all five people on board were entering the water. The victims also activated an emergency position indicating radio beacon to help rescuers find them.
Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched a boat crew on a Station Wrightsville Beach 45-foot Response Boat – Medium and an aircrew on an Air Station Elizabeth City MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to respond.
The Coast Guard crew found all five people, all wearing life jackets, clinging to the boat’s overturned hull.
The victims were pulled from the water and taken to Station Wrightsville Beach, where emergency medical personnel treated them for mild hypothermia.
