Six people are safe after a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew hoisted them off an 18-foot recreational boat that ran aground near the Turtle Island Wildlife Management Area in Jasper County on Wednesday. No injuries were reported among those rescued, and the crew flew them to Hunter Army Airfield following the midweek rescue.
Helicopter Crew Plucks Six From Grounded Boat
The rescue was carried out by a U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Savannah MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew, which located the stranded boaters along the eastern edge of the wildlife management area, according to DVIDS. The crew safely hoisted all six people from the grounded vessel and transported them to Hunter Army Airfield, with the Coast Guard reporting no injuries. A family member had reported that six people were stranded aboard the vessel, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, as detailed by WCBD News 2.
Authorities say the vessel remains grounded near the wildlife management area. Because the boat is unlit, Sector Charleston watchstanders issued a safety marine information broadcast warning mariners that it could pose a navigational hazard, per the same report from WCBD News 2. The Coast Guard says it will coordinate with the vessel's owner on recovery and salvage.
Not the Only Grounded-Boat Call This Week
The Jasper County rescue came just a day after emergency crews pulled two people and two cats from a 35-foot sailboat that ran aground near North Beach on Tybee Island, according to WTOC. Two Tybee Island Fire Rescue swimmers entered the surf to help the stranded passengers, and all four, people and pets alike, were brought ashore without injury. Chatham EMS evaluated the occupants at the scene, and the outlet reported that neither passenger needed additional medical care. First responders in that case said it was their second watercraft rescue in two days and urged boaters and beachgoers to exercise caution.
Similar groundings have played out up and down the South Carolina coast before. In 2017, the Coast Guard rescued eight boaters from a grounded 21-foot recreational boat near Capers Island, with an MH-65 Dolphin crew hoisting four at a time to Mount Pleasant Regional Airport, according to a bulletin from the U.S. Coast Guard. All eight were reported in good condition, and the vessel was salvaged with no signs of pollution found.
Pattern of Coastal Rescues Continues
Late last month, a Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued five people and a dog from a commercial shrimping vessel that was taking on water near the Winyah Bay jetties after grounding, according to National Fisherman. The vessel's crew had contacted Coast Guard Sector Charleston around 12:50 p.m. on Oct. 28 to report the grounding, and those rescued were taken to a local airport for evaluation with no injuries reported. The cause of that incident remained under investigation, with the owner working alongside the Coast Guard to arrange salvage.
Coast Guard crews along the South Carolina coast have logged other close calls in recent months as well. In late September, a Station Charleston boat crew rescued six people, including one child, from a sailing vessel aground near Drum Island amid gale-force winds and hazardous seas, according to a post from U.S. Coast Guard Southeast on X. The Jasper County case adds to that recent stretch of groundings, though the vessel's exact path to running aground near Turtle Island has not been detailed by authorities.
