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Sunday, May 24, 2009

"Trooper 2" Performs Open Water Rescue Off Dewey Beach


At approximately 6:00 p.m. this evening, "Trooper 2," the State Police helicopter based out of Georgetown Aviation, was called by Station 86 Rehoboth Beach to assist with the report of two subjects stranded in open water.

The helicopter responded, and while enroute, they learned that an adult male and female were initially in a small raft off of the Dewey Beach and had fallen from the raft into the water. These subjects were not wearing flotation devices and were struggling to stay afloat. Trooper 2 selected a landing zone in Dewey Beach and set down to configure the aircraft with a rescue winch and cable.

The helicopter took off and located both subjects approximately 3/4 miles from shore. The winch was lowered and the two subjects were both able to cling to the rescue line. Trooper 2's pilot then navigated the aircraft toward shore. Just prior to making it to land, the female was unable to hold on and fell back into the water. While the male was being pulled to safety, a good samaritan dove into the water, swam to, and rescued the female.

Once on shore, the two subjects were ultimately met by rescue personnel from Station 86, Rehoboth PD and Sussex County Paramedics. The pair are believed to be uninjured.

The Delaware State Police does not have the identities of these two subjects. Inquires pertaining to their names and medical status should be directed to Station 86 or the Sussex County Paramedics.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Joe, I was down on the water this weekend in Assawoman Bay and saw MSP landing at the 3rd Park (where they usually land for critical emergencies). I was just wondering if you knew anything about the incident or heard any other incidents in OC this weekend. It seemed to be a rather calm weekend down there, but I imagine with the unusually high number of motorcycles I saw I bet there were some accidents and injuries.