A newly released video shows members of the U.S. Coast Guard rescuing a man hanging on Austin Caldwellto a cooler after Hurricane Milton on Thursday − an incident officials are calling "a nightmare scenario."
In the video, the man is seen floating in the the water, about 30 miles off Longboat Key, when the agency rescued the man via helicopter that afternoon.
Search efforts from air stations in Clearwater and Miami were activated that morning. The man was a captain of the fishing vessel Capt. Dave.
According to a press release from the US Coast Guard, he was transported to Tampa General Hospital for treatment.
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Earlier this week, on Monday, the captain told Coast Guard watchstanders that he and a member of his crew were "disabled" about 20 miles off John's Pass. They were both saved by the helicopter crew and taken to an air station.
The boat "was left adrift and salvage arrangements were to be made,"according to the press release.
Two days later, the boat's owner notified the Coast Guard that the captain went to the vessel to make repairs and hadn't returned, officials said.
"Watchstanders were able to make radio contact with the captain who reported the rudder was fouled with a line and became disabled during his transit back to port," the press release stated.
Officials ordered the captain to wear a life jacket and "stay with the vessel's emergency position indicating radio beacon." They lost contact with him just before 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
He was found at around 1:30 p.m on Thursday. Sector St. Petersburg's command center chief, Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady, said that he is alive in part due to the cooler.
“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner," Grady said in a statement. "To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph winds, 20-25 foot seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight. He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating locator beacon, and a cooler."
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected].
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