TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 33 people nearly six miles off the coast of Haiti on Monday after their boat began sinking.
Crews with the Coast Guard Cutter Dependable encountered the boat, which was taking on water, and brought all 33 passengers aboard the Dependable.
According to the Coast Guard, they were then taken to Haitian authorities on Tuesday in good health.
“Dependable’s crew did a great job of rapidly responding to the dangerous situation,” Lt. j.g. Chelsea Chamberlain, a Coast Guard District Seven enforcement officer said. “The people were actively bailing out water in heavy seas and if our crew hadn’t arrived when they did, the vessel would have likely succumbed to the sea.”