A man had to be rescued along with his dog after the boat they were traveling in began to sink in the waters off southwest Florida, according to the Clearwater station of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), due to Hurricane Helene.
The dramatic moment experienced by the sailor and his dog has gone viral after being shared on social media. The emergency call was received at around 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 26th, when a 64-year-old man reported that his 36-foot sailboat had broken down and "had started taking on water about 25 miles from Sanibel Island."
How was the rescue of the man who was trapped in the path of Hurricane Helene along with his dog?
Helene's winds were intensifying at that moment, and went from a Category 2 storm to a Category 3 one. The air units of the Coast Guard Service took risks in carrying out the mission without additional loss of life, said an agency spokesperson.
In the audiovisual, it could be seen that the vessel was still afloat when the crew of an MH-60 helicopter arrived around 2:45 p.m. and a crew member descended on a cable to the water. It was then that the dog, wearing a life jacket, was the first to be taken off the swaying vessel and its owner was next.
"The sea was terrible and the winds even worse," said Petty Officer Nicole J. Groll to McClatchy. "If the rescuers had fallen, then no one could have been rescued. It was a calculated risk we took, but we were confident that we would find him and rescue him."
The man, whose identity was not disclosed, was taken to the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers to be examined by medical personnel and later arrangements were made for his transfer back home.
Helene made landfall in Taylor County, in the Florida Panhandle, at around 11:10 p.m. on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane, reported the NHC.