The U.S. Coast Guard hoisted two people to safety after their vessel ran aground at the jetty at Barnegat Inlet Wednesday night, officials with the service said.
The jetty at the inlet is a notoriously dangerous area for boaters since it is sometimes sunken and invisible to the naked eye. Only a channel marker further east notes its end point.
A helicopter crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City rescues two men aboard a fishing vessel at Barnegat Inlet. (Photo: USCG)
According to a statement from the Coast Guard, a passenger aboard the grounded 53-foot fishing vessel Bay of Isle contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light and reported that they had run aground and began taking on water. Due to the location of the grounded vessel, it was determined that a boat crew from Station Barnegat Light would not be able to reach them and evacuate the passengers.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay – which has jurisdiction over Ocean County waters – launched an aircrew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City to assist. Once one scene, the aircrew hoisted the two people from the fishing vessel onto the helicopter and transported them to Air Station Atlantic City.
HH-65 Dolphin Helicopter from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City (Photo: Daniel Nee)
There were no reported injuries.
