Five people, a dog, and two rescuers were rescued Sunday after a boat ran aground near South Carolina's Fripp Island and the airboat crew sent to help them lost its engines, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement Monday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Charleston command center received a cell phone call at around 2 p.m. Sunday from a person aboard the 23-foot vessel reporting that they ran aground with five people and a dog on board.
Beaufort County Marine Rescue launched an airboat crew to assist, but upon arrival at the scene, the airboat "suffered an engine casualty," the Coast Guard said.
A Coast Guard Air Station Savannah MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew was then launched to assist the originally stranded party along with two airboat crew members. Across multiple trips, the helicopter crew hoisted all individuals and the dog to safety and transported them to Beaufort Executive Airport.
No injuries were reported.
"Due to the high number of people, this turned out to be a fairly complex evolution that required multiple trips to the vessel in distress," Lt. Cmdr. Carl Luxhoj, Coast Guard Air Station Savannah aircraft commander, said in a statement. "Our crew did a great job of managing aircraft weight and power margin to conduct the hoists. Due to the impressive range of tides in the Lowcountry region, we recommend all mariners check tides and currents before going out on the water."
Beaufort County Marine Rescue recovered both their airboat and the 23-foot vessel, the Coast Guard said.
--with reporting by TMX
