International rescue effort saves two sailors

An international rescue effort including U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen and the Amver participating Handysize tanker Nord Nightingale saved two German sailors who abandoned their burning sailboat approximatley 525 miles east of Port Canaveral, Fla., on Friday, July 7, 2017.

U.S. Coast Guard rescue authorities in Miami, Fla. received a 406 MHz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) for a 42-foot German flagged sailboat. Working with rescue authorities in Bremen, Germany the Coast Guard personnel learned that two sailors had abandoned their buring sailboat and one of the sailors was suffering from severe burns.

Coast Guard rescue personnel used the Amver system to locate the 600-foot chemical tanker Nord Nightingale which was near the sunked sailboat. The crew of the Nord Nighingale agreed to divert and assist in the rescue operations.

The Coast Guard also coordinated with the U.S. Air Force who launched pararescuemen and medical supplies from the 920th Rescue Wing. The team of Air Force rescue specialists were able to parachute down to the injured yachtsment and begin treating them.

The survivors and pararescuemen were hoisted aboard the Nord Nighingale and a U.S. Air Force helicopter arrived to hoist the seven and transport them back to Florida where the survivors were transferred to EMS and transported to a local hospital.

The Singapore flagged Nord Nightingale, managed by NorOrient Product Pool in Singapore, enrolled in Amver on June 2, 2008.

Photo credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mark Borosch