OCEANSIDE — Emergency crews came to the rescue Thursday of three men who wound up treading water in the ocean off the coast of northern San Diego County after the boat they were in sank.
The occupants of the 39-foot vessel sent out a mayday after it began taking on water at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday, according to the Oceanside Fire Department. As authorities worked to locate the foundering boat, transmissions from it ceased, and the men aboard stopped responding to radio calls, the city agency reported.
At that point, U.S. Coast Guard personnel used triangulation to determine the boat’s last known location, about six nautical miles northwest of Oceanside Harbor. The federal agency then requested assistance from the OFD Marine Safety Unit, the closest available search-and-rescue resource.
Arriving in the area specified by the Coast Guard, members of the city team spotted the stranded men floating in life jackets, motored over to their position and pulled them aboard the rescue vessel. An onboard paramedic evaluated the trio and determined that they were suffering from exhaustion and mild hypothermia, and the marine safety crew provided them with water, food and dry clothing.
The rescued men, who declined further medical attention, told the fire department they were the only people aboard the boat. They did have a dog with them, however, and had been unable to find the animal after entering the water.
The marine safety team searched the ocean and shoreline in the area with help from a Coast Guard helicopter crew but could not locate the dog or the foundered boat.
It was not immediately clear what caused the private vessel to sink.
