CORPUS CHRISTI – A man who was cut by a propeller during a fishing trip 130 miles off Corpus Christi had to be rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The U.S. Coast Guard said they received a call at 3:15 a.m. on Saturday about a 37-year-old man who had lacerations from the propeller. The man was recreationally fishing with five other adults in a 43-foot, center-console boat.
The boat had a satellite phone for long-range communication.
The U.S. Coast Guard duty flight surgeon recommended a medevac and they sent an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and a HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane for the rescue.
The crews arrived at the boat three hours later and hoisted the injured man and his father into the helicopter. See a video of the rescue above.
The helicopter refueled at a nearby oil platform and then transported the patient to Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi - Shoreline, where he was in stable condition at the last check.
Authorities did not detail how the man injured himself, but Petty Officer 1st Class Derek Mazur said this was a reminder for boaters who travel far offshore to carry long-range communication gear.
“If something goes wrong, you need to be able to successfully call for help,” Mazur said in a news release.
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