Migration
Coast Guard, Navy chopper squadron help rescue fishermen off Tinian
Stars and Stripes
June 19, 2016
An MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 is pictured during a photo exercise off the coast of Guam. Sailors from the Island Knights teamed up with Coast Guard Sector Guam and the local fire department to rescue two fishermen in a capsized boat off the coast of Tinian Saturday night. (Joan Jenning/U.S. Navy)
The Coast Guard and a Navy helicopter squadron assisted in the rescue of two fishermen 13 miles northwest of the North Marianas island of Tinian, the Navy said Sunday.
The sailors from Guam-based Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25, known as the Island Knights, left Andersen Air Force Base at 9:35 pm Saturday in response to an emergency call to Coast Guard Sector Guam.
Within an hour, the squadron located the fishermen’s capsized boat from their MH-60S Sea Hawk and notified the region’s Coast Guard unit. The Coast Guard and the local fire department then had the fishermen swim to their boat and moved the two men to safety on the island of Saipan.
“It means a great deal to be able to help save life. You can’t put into words the feeling of helping two people make sure they get ashore safely and see their families,” Lt. Amanda Lowery, the aircraft commander of the search-and-rescue helicopter, said in a Navy statement.