Coast Guard rescues four from disabled trawler near Duck

A Coast Guard crew airlifted four fishermen Tuesday morning from a disabled fishing trawler drifting toward the shore near Duck.

Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders received a call around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday from the captain of the fishing vessel Bald Eagle II stating that his vessel was disabled and drifting towards shore, officials said Tuesday.

“The water temperature near Southern Shores is currently 56 degrees, which is dangerous had these four men not been prepared,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Timothy Hall, operations unit controller for Sector North Carolina, said in a statement. “Fortunately, these men were wearing survival suits to prevent hypothermia when our rescue helicopter arrived.”

A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew and a Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew arrived on scene. The aircrew hoisted all four men and transported them to the air station. No injuries were reported, officials said.

“We are coordinating with the vessel’s owner with a plan for freeing the vessel,” said Petty Officer First Class Stephen Lehmann with U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Public Affairs, according to a report from OBX Today.

The Coast Guard shared video of the rescue on Facebook.