Fishermen with ‘severe hypothermia’ rescued after boat sinks, Massachusetts cops say
Three fishermen were stranded in the ocean without life vests and “battling dangerous sea conditions” after their large boat sank off the coast of Massachusetts, police said.
They were ”clinging” for their lives to the boat’s fishing gear while immersed in diesel fuel and frigid water until rescuers arrived and hoisted them out, according to the Scituate Police Department.
The men suffered “from severe hypothermia” after a witness reported their 40-50-foot fishing vessel flipped over and quickly went underwater roughly one mile out from Humarock Beach in Scituate on Feb. 1, police said.
Rescue boats arrived and located the men after the witness called the town’s public safety dispatch, according to authorities.
There was “a lot of black smoke and then the boat just disappeared. I was like: ‘This is not good,’” witness Pam Harght told WCVB5.
Drone footage shared by police showed several attempts of tossing rescue rings to the men as they were seen floating in the dark, murky water, some of which was colored a deep red potentially from the diesel fuel.
“They were helpless,” Scituate Fire Chief John Murphy told CBS Boston. “Clinging for life, holding onto the side (of) the floating hoses, and by the time we were able to get them in the boat with rope to them, they couldn’t even do that.”
The men were unable to help themselves onto the boat due to how cold they were, according to CBS.
“We probably would’ve found them on the beach tomorrow realistically,” Murphy added while speaking with the outlet.
The men were taken to a nearby hospital after they were saved, according to police.
Scituate is roughly 30 miles southeast of Boston.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Fishermen with ‘severe hypothermia’ rescued after boat sinks, Massachusetts cops say."
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