Ship crew rescued after fighting off sharks with bare hands

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Last Saturday morning a small crew were left stranded after their 24-foot fishing boat began to sink. On Facebook the US Coast Guard Heartland said that two of the men were spotted fighting sharks with no weapons and only being supported by life jackets in the open sea.

The Coast Guard was notified by a concerned family member on Saturday evening after the crew had been missing for hours.

They spent over 24 hours in the water before being rescued, and one man is currently being treated for hypothermia, and two men suffered injuries on their hands due to the shark attacks.

However, it is being reported that all men are currently in stable condition.

The men were rescued 25 miles from Empire, a small community southeast of New Orleans in the United States.

The fishermen had begun their trip off the coast of southeastern Louisiana and their boat began to sink around 10am.

They had been stranded after their communication devices sank into the water.

The men were found on Sunday morning by a helicopter, which then directed a Coast Guard rescue boat to help the men.

The Coast Guard said they searched an area 1,250 miles, which they described as “slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island.”

They said the men were “rescued just in the nick of time”.

Crewmembers pulled the two onto the boat, but the third fisherman had to be rescued by a helicopter and was then taken to a New Orleans hospital.

The water was reportedly calm and temperatures were warm, which also is one reason all three crew members were saved.

Kevin Keefe, a Sector New Orleans Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator, said: “If the family member had not notified the Coast Guard, and if these three boaters were not wearing life jackets, this could’ve been a completely different outcome.”

It is currently unknown what caused the boat to sink, according to officials reported by the Sun Herald.

The rescuers said watchstanders help to search for those missing after spending lots of time in the waters requires teams to engage in “time-sensitive research and detective work”.

The US Coast Guard Heartland mentioned on social media the command centre team at US Coast Guard Sector New Orleans who they said “showed initiative and creativity throughout this case”.

They added: “Their actions were critical in narrowing the search area and locating all three boaters alive.”

The Coast Guard signed off their post by saying “BZ to all those involved with the success of this rescue!”

“BZ” stands for “Bravo Zulu”, a combination of two naval flag signals which means “Well Done”.

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