Four men were rescued from the Atlantic Ocean Friday afternoon after their boat sunk about six miles east of West Palm Beach.Members of Broward County Sheriff’s Fire Rescue said it was like finding a needle in a haystack.“They got lucky,” firefighter Jarrett Buetti said of the men in the water. “We all got lucky.”Fire Rescue said the initial call came in just before 2 p.m. Friday of a boat sinking off the coast of Dania Beach.“We were getting reports that they were with coolers and life jackets. That’s all they had,” said Fire Rescue Lt. Dan Suarez. “The boat was sunk.”Close call: Helicopter crashes into ocean just feet from Miami Beach shoreThe crew immediately headed out and knew right away this was going to be tough.“It was five to seven foot seas out there,” Suarez said. “We took a pounding getting out there.”“Wind’s blowing so there’s whitecaps,” Buetti said. “Whitecaps make it really hard if you’re trying to pick out an object like a white cooler.”But the one thing they could count on was a cellphone one of the men in the water was holding on to.Stay informed: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsThat’s how he was able to call 911. And Fire Rescue used the signal from that phone to track the men from ping to ping to ping, all the way to West Palm Beach.“And once we got past the third ping, we stayed on that trajectory and within five minutes, we see them,” Suarez said.“You could tell that they were tired, they were cold,” Buetti said.“They were all tired, but they were in really good spirits,” said firefighter Henry Caballeros.Follow us on social: Facebook | Twitter | InstagramThat was obvious from a photo Buetti snapped as they first pulled up.You can see one man with a huge grin, triumphantly holding up the cell phone that saved their lives.The men were all uninjured.The crew brought them to Oyer Park in Boynton Beach for a quick celebration over a miraculous rescue.“To actually have the boat go down, people floating in the water, and then you’re able to find them in the short amount of that we did? That’s a once in a career call,” Suarez said.
Four men were rescued from the Atlantic Ocean Friday afternoon after their boat sunk about six miles east of West Palm Beach.
Members of Broward County Sheriff’s Fire Rescue said it was like finding a needle in a haystack.
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“They got lucky,” firefighter Jarrett Buetti said of the men in the water. “We all got lucky.”
Fire Rescue said the initial call came in just before 2 p.m. Friday of a boat sinking off the coast of Dania Beach.
“We were getting reports that they were with coolers and life jackets. That’s all they had,” said Fire Rescue Lt. Dan Suarez. “The boat was sunk.”
Close call: Helicopter crashes into ocean just feet from Miami Beach shore
The crew immediately headed out and knew right away this was going to be tough.
“It was five to seven foot seas out there,” Suarez said. “We took a pounding getting out there.”
“Wind’s blowing so there’s whitecaps,” Buetti said. “Whitecaps make it really hard if you’re trying to pick out an object like a white cooler.”
But the one thing they could count on was a cellphone one of the men in the water was holding on to.
Stay informed: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
That’s how he was able to call 911.
And Fire Rescue used the signal from that phone to track the men from ping to ping to ping, all the way to West Palm Beach.
“And once we got past the third ping, we stayed on that trajectory and within five minutes, we see them,” Suarez said.
“You could tell that they were tired, they were cold,” Buetti said.
“They were all tired, but they were in really good spirits,” said firefighter Henry Caballeros.
Follow us on social: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
That was obvious from a photo Buetti snapped as they first pulled up.
You can see one man with a huge grin, triumphantly holding up the cell phone that saved their lives.
The men were all uninjured.
The crew brought them to Oyer Park in Boynton Beach for a quick celebration over a miraculous rescue.
“To actually have the boat go down, people floating in the water, and then you’re able to find them in the short amount of that we did? That’s a once in a career call,” Suarez said.