Fishermen Return to Thin Ice

Coast Guard gets six off distressed fishing boat

(NEWSER) - The big bad Americans rescued more Iranians at sea today. This time, a US Coast Guard cutter plucked six fishermen off their boat in the Gulf when the engine failed and the vessel began flooding, reports Fox News . The crew hailed the passing US ship with flares and flashlights. It's pretty routine stuff, notes the BBC , but another PR opportunity for the State Department amid the war of words going on with Iran. The development follows last week's rescue of 13 Iranian fishermen from pirates. More»

(NEWSER) - Rescue teams saved about 125 fishermen stuck on an ice floe in Lake Erie today, but one died after falling in the water, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Authorities had warned northern Ohio fishermen that high winds with unseasonably warm air could melt ice and send it adrift. Fishermen reached the ice by setting up a makeshift wooden bridge that collapsed as the floe broke away. More»

Commuter ferries, private boats helped save passengers

(NEWSER) - Swift action from a small army of volunteer and working rescuers is credited with saving the lives of everybody on board US Airways Flight 1549, the New York Times reports. Within minutes of the plane hitting the Hudson river, ferries, cruise boats and conventional rescue boats converged on the scene to quickly pluck passengers to safety from the wings of the slowly sinking jet. More»

Rescuers search for their own in Pacific Ocean

(NEWSER) - Three people are dead and one missing after a Coast Guard helicopter crashed during a training exercise in Hawaii last night, the Honolulu Advertiser reports. The Dolphin rescue chopper crashed into the water about 6 miles off of Sand Island in Honolulu. The cause is unclear. A massive search continued today for the fourth crew member, KHNL-TV notes. More»