Wednesday, July 3, 2013

happy ending: missing boaters rescued by U.S. military

...She and others chartered a boat [from Utila] to Roatan. They left Roatan on Saturday about 3 p.m. to return to Utila, Capehart said. A relative of one passenger alerted authorities after the boat did not arrive. Burkett was one of two U.S. citizens on the vessel, a 28-foot pleasure boat, the Coast Guard said. Five others are Hondurans, one Canadian, the Coast Guard said. Their ages range from 15 to 33, Capehart said.

The Coast Guard, the Honduran Navy and others launched aircraft and vessels to search, the Coast Guard said. The crew aboard a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules airplane based in Clearwater, Fla., spotted the survivors about 55 miles from their destination in Roatan, the Coast Guard said in a news release. A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was dispatched to the island, and the survivors were hoisted up, the Coast Guard said. They were found on an island about 65 miles from where they launched, Capehart said. All eight people were seen signaling an aircraft, she said.

Thank you, U.S. Americans! Sources: nola.com, laprensa.hn

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