SOUTHERN SHORES, N.C. — Four fishermen aboard a disabled boat are safe after a US Coast Guard aircrew lifted them to safety just offshore of the Outer Banks on Tuesday morning.
The Coast Guard said they were alerted around 7:30 a.m. that the fishing vessel "Bald Eagle II" had went adrift near Duck and was drifting toward shore.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter was dispatched from Air Station Elizabeth City, as was a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet.
When the Jayhawk arrived on scene, the aircrew was able to hoist all four fishermen to safety. The Coast guard said all four men were wearing survival suits to prevent hypothermia, and that no one was hurt.
"The water temperature near Southern Shores is currently 56 degrees, which is dangerous had these four men not been prepared," Petty Officer 1st Class Timothy Hall said in a news release.
The Coast Guard is now overseeing the salvage and removal of the boat, which became grounded near Southern Shores.
Officials said the owner is continuing efforts to salvage the vessel and is working with an oil spill removal organization to safely remove the 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel on-board.
The cause of the grounding remains under investigation.
