Nearby boat capsizes during Coast Guard training in Oregon. See the dramatic rescue
A dramatic scene unfolded at the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon as nearly 30-foot swells capsized a boat right near where Coast Guard crews were training.
Two of the schools training nearby at about 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 3 responded to the boat’s mayday signal, and one of the rescue swimmers made his first-ever rescue and went on to graduate only hours later, Petty Officer Michael Clark told McClatchy News. Clark is the Coast Guard spokesperson based in Seattle.
Dramatic video shows the boat “floundering” in the surf and eventually capsizing as the rescue swimmer tried to rescue the boater.
(1/4) #BreakingNews - Talk about arriving in the nick of time! While conducting a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River, 2 Coast Guard air crews received a #MAYDAY broadcast from the master of the P/C Sandpiper. After notifying watchstanders at Sector Columbia River pic.twitter.com/CtYSgpdPUG
— USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) February 3, 2023
The boater was tossed into the water as the boat rolled over in the waves, Clark said.
The rescue swimmer was able to retrieve the boater, and the air crew flew him to Coast Guard Base Astoria, where emergency medical services treated him. He was mildly hypothermic and had minor injuries consistent with bumping his head, Clark said.
“Talk about arriving in the nick of time!” officials wrote on Twitter.
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