(Hooper Strait, MD) - Two Maryland State Police helicopter crews rescued two victims off of a sinking fishing boat in the Chesapeake Bay today.
Shortly before 11:00 a..m. this morning, Trooper 6, the Aviation Command helicopter assigned to the Centreville hangar, was dispatched to the Hooper Island area of Dorchester County in search of a sinking fishing boat. The crew of Trooper 6 was Pilot Jim Billings and flight paramedic First Sergeant J.C. Lewis.
Moments after Trooper 6 launched, Trooper 7, the Aviation Command helicopter assigned to the Southern Maryland Section, was dispatched to assist in the large scale search. The crew of Trooper 7 was Pilot Bob Carolla and flight paramedic Trooper First Class Jeremy Everly.
The initial 9-1-1 call that police received did not specify the area in which the boat was sinking. Due to the victims losing their cell phone in the water, further contact with police was made impossible.
At 11:11 a.m., crews aboard Trooper 6 located the quickly sinking 40-foot fishing vessel. The two victims, both adult males, were seen perched on top of the pilot house with the rest of the vessel below the water. The boat appeared to be very old, possibly dating back to the 1950’s.
Despite the windy conditions and the choppiness of the Chesapeake Bay, Trooper 7 was able to safely hover over the sinking ship to complete the hoist operation. Each victim was individually hoisted to safety aboard the aircraft. The hoists went smoothly and the victims were uninjured.
The victims were transported to Hooper Island and turned over to the Dorchester County EMS for further evaluation. The victims refused treatment.
The men and women of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command perform dozens of similar hoist rescue operations each year. The rescue basket and hoist is just one of the many life-saving combinations on board each State Police helicopter used to rescue people in danger and save lives in Maryland each day.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
10 comments:
But but but we need a new million dollar fireboat to do that! Those mean troopers took our rescue fun away, wah, wah, wah.
Another reason why we should leave the medivac program alone.
Guess our SFD will want a helicopter next.
actually, depending where the helicopter came from. The Salisbury Fire Department H.E.A.T team may have been on that mission. The work with MSP to do such missions
trooper 4 is assigned the HEAT team u speak of...St Mary's county had a unit utilized for this operation
I am starting to see that many posters (and citizens of Delmarva) do not realize the size of the bay, and how slow and small the new fire boat is. Hoopers Straits is atleast an hour away from Salisbury by boat. A really fast boat.
In all honesty, by the time they got the crew on the boat, dealt with the two Wicomico ferries, got sea sick a few times once they hit the sound, it would take well over two hours for them to get there.
Who in their right mind would call that a rescue? I think SFD and who ever approved that grant is clueless about the size of the bay. That boat is going to be docked in a completely isolated deadend river that will serve a very small area. The river, and bay for that matter, is not a friendly place due to shallows. I forsee that boat being stuck in the mud by the second mission they go on. I doubt that anyone in the SFD has intimate knowledge of the river, let alone anything beyond that.
MSP Aviation ROCKS! Thanks for keeping us protected!
Lets see the private helicoperts (Medstar/life flight) do that. Way to go MSP.
Boat stuck in the mud, like the coastguard boat behind chincoteague during the white marlin tourniment
Salisbury Heat Team?? Funny, how often do they train, how many can swim?
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