Sailors from the destroyer USS O’Bannon rescued two Danish fishermen from their sinking vessel Wednesday afternoon in international waters off Corsica.

The Mayport, Fla.-based O’Bannon received a distress signal and crewmembers saw an emergency flare coming from the 45-foot-long Grenaa around 1 p.m.

O’Bannon’s crew launched a rigid-hulled inflatable boat and rescue personnel headed to the vessel. After unsuccessful attempts to stop the flooding, the sailors brought the two men back to the destroyer.

They will be dropped ashore at the ship’s next port call.

The O’Bannon has been in the 6th Fleet area of operations since December 2004 and recently took part in the multinational maritime exercise Trident d’Or. Earlier this year, the O’Bannon participated in a search-and-rescue exercise with the Israeli and Turkish navies.

Also on Wednesday, a helicopter from the cruiser USS Normandy assisted in the rescue of two Egyptian sailors and one Syrian sailor stranded at sea after their boat ran aground off the Israeli town of Nahariya, according to Israeli news reports.

Israeli ships and helicopters led the search and rescue, assisted by French forces and the Normandy’s helicopter.

The Normandy is in the Mediterranean as part of the USS Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group.

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