Port Hardy Coast Guard and a fish farming vessel helped rescue four people from rough seas Wednesday night.
A 25-foot work boat carrying four issued a mayday around 6:30 pm after waves smashed out their windows and swamped the vessel. Grieg Seafood’s MV Coastal Server heard the mayday over the radio and came to assist, following the flares.
The Port Hardy Lifeboat Station sent out a fast rescue boat. Rescuers discovered four people huddled together in the water, wearing life jackets with lights. The group had been in the water for 45 minutes, and were taken aboard the Coast Guard’s Florencia Bay to be treated for hypothermia. A Cormorant helicopter from 19 Wing in Comox was also dispatched to assist.
The rescued group was taken to the hospital in Port Hardy for further treatment.
