Moment sailor and his dog rescued from sinking boat during Hurricane Helene
This is the heartwarming moment a sailor and his dog were saved after their boat sank in Hurricane Helene.
Footage shows the moment the pair found themselves in danger after their 36 ft boat was damaged and started flooding with water in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday.
The sailor sent out a distress call that was picked up by USCG Air Station Clearwater, sending rescuers into the raging seas and strong winds.
The sailor and his dog were around 25 miles offshore from Sanibel Island near Fort Myers.
They were able to be hoisted to safety, with one rescuer able to snap an image of the pair.
The coastguard released a clip of their successful mission online.
Tropical Storm Helene moved into Georgia early today after thrashing Florida with screeching 140mph winds and heavy, flooding rainfall.
Two people have already died in a tornado in Wheeler County, Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp said.
‘We urge all Georgians to brace for further impact from Helene, remain vigilant, and pray for all those affected,’ he said on X.
The ‘unsurvivable’ Category 4 hurricane made landfall Thursday night as the most powerful to ever strike Florida’s Big Bend region since records began.
Along the state’s Gulf Coast, gusts tore down power lines and trees and whipped up waves that slammed into bridges and roads, capsized boats and engulfed buildings.
Florida has confirmed at least one death after a sign fell on a car on a Tampa City highway.
A four-year-old girl was killed and two other children, 12 and two, were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries in a car crash in Catawba County, North Carolina, during the heavy rains caused by the storm.
Helene’s storm surge – when seawater is forced ashore by hurricane-strong wind – has now entered Charleston, South Carolina, with high tide levels and tornado warnings in effect.
In North Carolina, the rains have become so intense that Lake Lure Dam risks overflowing, with communities downstream evacuated to higher ghreound.
According to officials, the remnants of Helene will whip up winds and extreme rainfall as it moves north across Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana this weekend.
Parts of Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee may see ‘life-threatening flash flooding’, strong winds and tornadoes, forecasters warn.
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