USCG rescues 15 as HMS Bounty sinks
VIDEO: In its first major search and rescue operation associated with Hurricane Sandy, the US Coast Guard (USCG) arilfted 15 crew members of the HMS Bounty from the Atlantic Ocean approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina, US.
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VIDEO: In its first major search and rescue operation associated with Hurricane Sandy, the US Coast Guard (USCG) arilfted 15 crew members of the HMS Bounty from the Atlantic Ocean approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina, US.
The owner of the 55-m (180-ft), three-mast tall ship HMS Bounty, a replica of the original British transport vessel that was built for the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty, contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina after losing communication with the crew during the evening of 28 October. The 5th Coast Guard District command centre in Portsmouth, Virginia, subsequently received a signal from the emergency distress position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) registered to the Bounty confirming the distress and position.
A USCG C130 search plane was launched from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City the same evening, which established communication with the Bounty’s crew upon arriving on scene. The vessel was reportedly sinking in 18-ft (5.5-m) seas accompanied by 40-mph (64-km/h) winds.
By the time two Coast Guard H65 Jayhawk helicopters from Elizabeth City arrived on scene at approximately 06:30 hrs on 29 October, the HMS Bounty was reported to have sunk with only the mast being visible. The first man to be rescued was spotted floating in the water thanks to lights on his survival suit. Thirteen of the group were then rescued from two liferafts
A USCG search plane and two rescue helicopters remained on scene to search for the two remaining crew members. On the evening of 29 October, one of the missing was found and taken from the water in an unresponsive state. She was pronounced dead after arriving at a hospital in North Carolina, according to the Associated Press. The searched continued for the ship's captain, Robin Walbridge.
Image: A USCG rescue swimmer approaches one of two lifeboats where the crew of HMS Bounty sought shelter after abandoning ship / USCG