Utah Navy sailor helps rescue fishermen stuck at sea

Utah Navy sailor helps rescue fishermen stuck at sea

(Cody R. Babin/U.S. Navy)


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PHILIPPINE SEA — A Salt Lake City sailor stationed on a U.S. Navy flagship helped rescue five fishermen who were stuck adrift for three days, the U.S. Navy Office said.

Salt Lake City native Richard Chavez serves as a Gunner’s Mate Second Class aboard the U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge, stationed near the Philippines, according to a U.S. Navy Office of Community Outreach news release.

On March 25, Chavez and several crew members noticed a small boat with a flag several miles away in the ocean. However, when the ship sailed closer to the boat, the sailors “noticed it wasn’t moving and several men were inside,” the news release said.

“We thought it was strange to see something in the water, so we slowed down to get a better look,” Blue Ridge officer of the deck Ensign John Li in the news release. “As we began looking for signs of distress, we noticed someone was waving a white T-shirt, while someone else was waving a flashlight.”

Blue Ridge immediately deployed a boarding team in an inflatable boat for a rescue. Chavez assisted in the rescue mission, and they discovered five Filipino men aboard the boat. The Filipino men said they had been fishing at sea when their boat’s motor stalled out and wouldn’t start, the news release said.

The boat was then taken out by the current, leaving them adrift for three days without food.

Chavez and the rescue crew safely brought the men on board the ship, where they were treated by a medical team. The men suffered minor injuries, including hypothermia and malnutrition, the news release said.

“These are situations Navy medical professionals are trained for,” Blue Ridge Medical Officer Lt. Cmdr. Omar Saeed said in the news release. “Luckily, we were there at the right place and the right time to save a life.”

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