CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi sector of the Coast Guard had to conduct an early morning medical rescue on Saturday, according to a press release from the Coast Guard.
At about 3:16 a.m., officials received several calls for help about a 37-year-old man who had sustained lacerations while fishing offshore of five other adults.
The release states that the group was approximately 130 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and that the man had been injured by the propeller of a 43 foot center console boat.
After consulting with Coast Guard officials on the situation, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi was sent to help.
The helicopter arrived at 6:20 a.m., hoisted the injured man and his father up, refueled at a nearby oil platform, and transported them to Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi - Shoreline. He was last said to be in stable condition.
Coast Guard officials were able to find the injured man because of three different calls from a satellite phone, an emergency position, indicating radio beacon and a Garmin inReach device.
“Boaters who venture far offshore should absolutely carry long-range communication gear, like satellite phones, radio beacons, and GPS devices,” Petty Officer 1st Class Derek Mazur, operations unit controller, Sector Corpus Christi said. “If something goes wrong, you need to be able to successfully call for help.”
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