A private yacht crew saw flares and carried out a ‘professional rescue’ of a crew from a capsized cargo vessel in the Dominican Republic.
Cargo boat M/V Tropic Scout II, was taking building materials from the Dominican Republic to Providenciales in the northwest Caicos Islands one day in February.
The crew of the capsized boat had been in the water for eight or nine hours before being spotted by the crew of the Capricho who saw the flares in the evening, reports SUNtv.
Capricho First mate Eddie Linares said he saw one flare followed by three more. Eddie Linares, Captain Ethan Olmstead, Jordan Gallagher and owner of the Capricho, Howard Scott, all assisted in the rescue.
When they found the M/V Tropic Scout II, they saw four men in life rafts and took them on board. They then went back to the overturned cargo vessel and spotted three more people underneath in an air pocket. Sadly, one crew member had already passed away. However, the three men were unwilling to leave the air pocket. Also the sea conditions meant it was too dangerous to carry out an immediate rescue.
The Capricho headed to Providenciales and went on to Provo, where a rescue boat and plane was sent for the three men.
A professional rescue
Howard Scott commended the crew for its professional rescue. “They worked as a team and it was a total team effort. I am very proud of them in the way that they responded, which is in a very professional manner. This maybe something that is only a once in a lifetime occurrence and you hope that when an opportunity arises to help that you can perform as well as they did.”
A Caicos Express Airways plane located the capsized vessel in international waters 40 miles South East of Providenciales. Marine Branch Officers on board M/V Sea Pursuit successfully rescued three Dominican nationals.
Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Marine Branch, the United States Coast Guard, Coastal Resources Officials and also a private vessel Molasses all assisted.
The image is from USCG Air Station Clearwater.
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