A spearfisher stranded on a pile of wave-swept rocks in the massive waves of a passing tropical storm was rescued in a daring rescue by the US Coast Guard that was caught on video.
The 50-year-old fisherman was exploring the waters off Dog Island on the southeast coast of St. Thomas around 8:30 a.m. Saturday when he was injured and his companion in a 26-foot Grady White motorboat was unable to retrieve the two meter-high foam crests that Tropical Storm Earl churned up from the treacherous elevation.
His friend called 911, who in turn alerted the Coast Guard.
A US Coast Guard JayHawk hovers over an injured spearfisher stranded on craggy rocks off the coast of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
The man was traveling with a friend in a 26-foot boat when he was caught on the rocks
A special lifeboat and helicopter were used for the rescue, but the boat could not get close enough to the rocks to rescue the man due to heavy seas
The JayHawk pilot was able to lower a lifeguard onto the rocks from above and get the man to safety
Video shows the man disappearing under the raging surf as waves smash against the rocks while Lt. Shea Smith, commander of a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter, hovers over them.
Rescuers aboard a 33-foot special vehicle tried to toss the stranded man with a heaving line, but the waves were too chaotic and they couldn’t pull him off the rocks.
The helicopter pilot approached and lowered a lifeguard in a wetsuit and flippers from above.
A 50-year-old spearfisherman was caught on some jagged rocks off Dog Island in the US Virgin Islands during Tropical Storm Earl
A lifeguard was lowered onto the rocks from above, and the pilot and crew helped bring the injured spearfisherman to safety
The lifeguard landed on the rocks attached to the lifeline, checked the casualty’s condition, and then heaved him to the helicopter.
“Got the survivor, cleared the rocks,” rescuers can be heard on the video. ‘Go upstairs.’
The helicopter flew the fisherman to Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas, where he was taken by ambulance to Schneider Regional Medical Center.
Tropical Storm Earl continues to sweep across the Atlantic, carrying winds of 65 to 115 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Tropical Storm Earl began forming east of the North Leeward Islands in the Caribbean on Friday
The Weather Channel reports that it’s being pushed east onto the Atlantic Ocean thanks to Earl’s tilt
Although the storm threatened no serious damage over populated areas, Earl brought heavy rains across the Caribbean on Sunday
The two storms are likely to dissipate over the Atlantic, miles from populated areas
The Coast Guard also rescued a sea kayaker in the Virgin Islands who had been swept away in the same storm.
In Salinas, Puerto Rico, a lightning strike struck a pleasure craft, killing two people, according to Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad.
He said that after the boat was hit, a Good Samaritan who saw the blow tried to revive one of the injured members, the wife of one of the passengers. She was taken to a local hospital, where she died. Another deceased passenger was recovered from the water.
Earl is expected to become a hurricane later in the week. It has not yet been forecast for landfall.
“This was a challenging case in a tropical storm with heavy seas, gusty winds and poor visibility, but that’s what the Coast Guard is training for,” Smith said. “I’m proud of the crew, everyone came together as a team to carry out the mission safely and efficiently. Luckily the survivor was able to hold out until we arrived and we are all glad he is safe.”
