Cold Water Kills 1; 4 missing

[wb]

1 dead, 4 missing from fishing boat off Jersey coast
AP • March 24, 2009

ATLANTIC CITY — A fishing boat sank off the New Jersey coast Tuesday morning, killing at least one person and leaving four others missing in near-freezing water, the Coast Guard said.

Rescuers plucked three people from the ocean 75 miles off South Jersey after the sinking of the Lady Mary, a 71-foot fishing boat based in Cape May and carrying seven people.

One was dead, another unresponsive, and a third conscious and alert, said Senior Petty Officer Stephen Carleton, a Coast Guard spokesman.

They had been in the water for an hour before a helicopter launched from a Coast Guard station in Atlantic City reached them, said Petty Officer Andrew Kendrick.

According to the conscious crew member, "all seven of the crew members donned survival suits and abandoned ship,'' Kendrick said.

The crew member did not say whether mechanical problems, weather or some other cause foundered the ship.

Waves were 4 to 7 feet high when the boat sank. The water temperature was 40 degrees and the air temperature 33 … conditions that would rapidly kill anyone without a survival suit, Kendrick said.

A helicopter and an airplane from a Coast Guard station in Elizabeth City, N.C., have joined two boats from Cape May and the Atlantic City helicopter in the search for the other crew members, centered on a 225-square-mile area.

Rescuers received a transmission from an emergency radio beacon around 7:30 a.m. and launched helicopters to search for survivors.

When the first helicopter reached the spot where the transmission originated, rescuers found an empty life raft and three people in the water, all wearing lifesaving suits, he said.

The three were hoisted aboard a helicopter and taken to a hospital, where one was confirmed dead. The condition of the person who was unresponsive was not immediately available.

[ped579]

What a shame.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.

[hareball]

Thats horrible

[IrishAyes]

Too much of this happening lately.

Prayers go out to family and friends.

Hopefully they find the others alive.

[Luna Sea 5]

 

[pilot2550]

Not good.  Prayers to the family of deceased and to survivors.

[kezsr]

thoughts and prayers to the families of those who lost there lives.

[Vinnym]

  Our hearts go out to the families. Let's all keep this in mind when we are on the water. You can NEVER be to careful. And remember, NEVER LEAVE THE BOAT. It's easier to find a floating boat than a body.

[Kenny]

 

[Ramtough]

Prayers go out to the familys..To much of this already & seasons just beginning..Be Carefull Guys!!!!

[striperdad]

Dangerous occupation. We lost my wifes cousin last month from Point Pleasant. He got caught in the winch cable.

[Great American Fisherman]

Just horrible.  Prayers for the families and the crew.

[surfrocket]

our hearts and prayers go out to all involved

[dreamsfloatjoe]

Prayers going UP!   

[Hunter 2]

Thanks to the Coast Guard crew,people survived and that they had survival suits and emergency beacons. My parents are friends with many of the c-130 pilots down in Elizabeth City. They cover the eastern seaboard.

[Hotrod]

Very Sad.