Coast Guard helicopter rescues fisherman off Montauk

NEW YORK - A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued three fishermen whose commercial vessel was sinking off Long Island, officials said.

The men were on board a fishing boat called the Nite Nurse about 83 miles southeast of Montauk when they radioed for help around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, the Coast Guard said. The crew said the boat was taking on water and sinking.

The Coast Guard dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane, and the Coast Guard Cutter Kingfisher to respond to the sinking boat. 

Authorities told the fishermen to put on their life jackets and make sure they had an emergency beacon, known as an EPIRB, with them before they abandoned the fishing boat and got on a life raft.

When the helicopter crew arrived on the scene, they found the fishermen in their life raft, hoisted them on board, and flew them to safety on Cape Cod, officials said. 

"This case was a success because these mariners did everything professional mariners should do to be found," Lt. Banning Lobmeyer, the pilot of the sentry plane, said in a news release. "They reported the problem early which led to a quicker response time from our crews. They stayed with their boat as long as possible before getting into their life raft, took and used flares and an EPIRB, and they were dressed appropriately in survival suits."

EPIRB stands for emergency position-indicating radio beacon, which is an electronic device that transmits a distress signal and location to search-and-rescue crews.

Get breaking news alerts in the FOX 5 NY News app. Download for FREE!