SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The crew of a Coast Guard rescue helicopter combined efforts with Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency and Police responders to rescue a man in distress off the coast of Sardinera Beach in Isabela, Puerto Rico Monday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Juan received a call at 7:38 a.m. Monday from Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency personnel reporting a man wearing no clothes, who was standing on the rocks at the top of a 15-foot cliff in Sardinera Beach. The man proceeded to jump into the rough water, where he was caught in the surf washing back and forth next to the rock formation.
Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen proceeded to launch an MH-65D Dolphin helicopter to locate and rescue the man. As the Coast Guard helicopter arrived on scene, two local emergency management rescue swimmer volunteers on shore dove into the water in an attempt to assist the man in distress.
Shortly thereafter, the crew of the Coast Guard helicopter located the man in open ocean, approximately a quarter mile from shore. The helicopter crew proceeded to deploy their rescue swimmer and rescue basket to recover the man from the water. Once the man was safely inside the rescue basket he was transferred by the Coast Guard helicopter to Emergency Medical Service personnel on shore. After completing the transfer, the Coast Guard helicopter proceeded to return and recover the Coast Guard and two emergency management rescue swimmers from the water.
"Once we located individual in the water, our well trained crew of aviation professionals was able to quickly remove survivor from the water and deliver him to EMS personnel on the shore," said Lt. Bryan Conrad, Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-65D helicopter pilot. "This rescue was an excellent example of the training we do every day in Coast Guard Aviation."