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Release date: Dec. 8, 2003 |
| Release: 152-03 |
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security
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3 MEN RESCUED IN GULF OF MEXICO |
HOUSTON -- The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three men this evening after their boat caught fire and they had to abandon ship 15 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
The owner and captain Mot Van Phan, 56, and his crewmembers Long Tan Phat, 43, and Minh Tuan, 34, all Viatnemese men from Houston were rescued from a wellhead they went to while their 79-foot shrimp boat US Eagle burned.
Phan woke up and noticed fire coming from the engine room and gathered his crew. They boarded their small boat and headed for the nearest wellhead at High Islands 53-3. Phan then called 911 on his cell phone and the message was passed through the Galveston County Sherriffs Department to the Coast Guard that he and his crew were in distress.
The Coast Guard launched an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Houston and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Manta, from Station Freeport, Texas, to search for the men. The helicopter arrived on scene and located the men and waited for the Manta to arrive and pick them up.
The men were not injured and were taken home.
The Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in Houston will be investigating the cause of the fire.
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The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the
Department of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America.
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