LAPUSH – Two men were rescued Tuesday night from a life raft 24 miles off the coast of LaPush after their 42-foot fishing boat sank.
The two men, identified as Tony Crosetti and Larry Fortado, who were in transit from Port Angeles to their homeport of San Francisco, were taken to LaPush after the rescue, and didn’t require hospitalization, the Coast Guard said.
Their ages and hometowns were unavailable.
Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles received a distress call at 8 p.m. Tuesday from the two men.
They said that their 42-foot boat Andiamo was taking on water and that the dewatering pumps weren’t keeping up.
The two men boarded their life raft and turned on the sinking boat’s emergency radio locator beacon, which broadcast the boat’s location.
A 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Quillayute River, an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Group/Air Station Astoria and an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles were sent to the area.
In the meantime, the tugboat Na Hoku rescued the two men, after hearing a radio call for assistance.
They were transferred to the Coast Guard’s 47-foot motor lifeboat where the crew determined the two men didn’t need to airlifted to a hospital.
The two men were taken to LaPush.
The vessel had 400 gallons of diesel fuel on board.
The cause of the incident and possible environmental impact are being investigated.
