U.S. Coast Guard rescuers plucked three people from a sinking boat in the ocean off the Monmouth County early Saturday morning.
At approximately 4 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay command center was notified that a 74-foot pleasure craft was taking on water off Shark River Inlet, near Belmar. The craft had three mariners on board, a Coast Guard spokesperson said.
A 47-foot lifeboat crew from the Coast Guard’s Manasquan Inlet station and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew based at the Atlantic City Air Station responded.
When the boat and helicopter crews arrived, they rescued three men who were standing on top of their semi-submerged vessel as it was sinking.
After safely transporting them to the Manasquan Inlet station, the Coast Guard crew transferred the mariners to local emergency services waiting on shore.
Coast Guard pollution responders are working with partners to formulate a salvage plan for the sunken vessel, officials said.
