Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Tom Davidson

Fishermen fight off sharks with their hands in the Gulf of Mexico after boat sinks

Three fisherman survived 24 hours in shark-infested waters in the Gulf of Mexico after fighting off the man-eaters with their bare hands.

The men were left stranded in the water with no means of communication when their 24-foot fishing boat sank at roughly 10am on Saturday.

The Coast Guard searched 1,200sqm before finding the three men in their life jackets off the Louisiana coast.

US Coast Guard Heartland said that two of the men were fending off sharks with their hands when a rescue helicopter arrived.

Crewmembers quickly pulled the two on board, a third had to be winched.

One of the rescued fishing boat crew (left) (US Coast Guard Heartland)

They were later treated for shark bites and are in a stable condition in hospital, with one suffering from hypothermia, Coast Guard officials said.

Dramatic footage from the rescue showed the men in lifejackets in the sea.

One man was hoisted out of the water by a helicopter, while two others were pulled onto a rescue boat, US Coast Guard Station Venice said.

The men were rescued roughly 25 miles from Empire, a small community southeast of New Orleans.

The men survived roughly 24 hours in the water (US Coast Guard Heartland)

US Coast Guard Heartland said a concerned family member had reported the men missing on Saturday evening.

“We searched an area roughly the size of Rhode Island and are thankful to have found these missing boaters,” said Lt Cmdr. Kevin Keefe, a Sector New Orleans Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator.

“If the family member had not notified the Coast Guard, and if these three boaters were not wearing life jackets, this could’ve been a completely different outcome.”

In a post about the rescue on Facebook, the guard said they were “rescued just in the nick of time”.

Investigators have not said what caused the fishing boat to sink, The Sun Herald reported officials as saying.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.