

HOUSTON — Coast Guard aircrews have rescued one crewmember and are searching for four others after their fishing vessel that sank 115 miles southeast of Galveston, Friday.

Watchstanders at the 8th Coast Guard District command center received an alert from the 406 MHZ Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon of a fishing vessel at approximately 3:30 a.m.

An aircrew aboard an HU-25 Falcon jet was launched from Air Station Corpus Christi to provide an overflight of the area and spotted a man waving his arms aboard an orange raft. An MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter and crew from Air Station Houston were launched and hoisted the man to safety. The survivor reported that there were four other crewmembers aboard the vessel before it sank. The man was taken to a nearby oil rig to address any medical concerns and to allow the helicopter crew to resume their search.

Coast Guard crews have launched and diverted aboard following assets to assist in the search:

An MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Houston

An MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans

An HU-25 Falcon jet from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi

The Coast Guard Cutter Thetis, homeported in Key West, Fla.

An HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala.

“We’re currently responding to an EPIRB hit that has quickly become a major search-and-rescue operation,” said Kevin Robb, a watchstander with the 8th District command center. “We have crews from all over the Gulf region descending on the general area where the boat went down to search for these remaining crewmembers.”