5 rescued from sinking sailboat offshore from NC’s Cape Hatteras, U.S. Coast Guard says

CAPE HATTERAS, N.C. (WNCN) — Five people were saved from a sinking sailboat off the coast of North Carolina Thursday, the United States Coast Guard said.

Watchstanders with Coast Guard Sector North Carolina Command Center received a distress call from those onboard a vessel located 260 nautical miles offshore from Cape Hatteras, according to the USCG. Crew members reported the sailboat, called Magic Bus, was taking on water. They told the Coast Guard they were abandoning ship and getting into their life raft.

According to the USCG, the Cutter Angela McShan (WPC 1135) was diverted to the location, and an HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew as well as an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew were launched from Air Station Elizabeth City. The Coast Guard said they also coordinated with the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush to help provide fuel support for the Jayhawk due to the long distance from the shore to the sinking vessel.

The helicopter crew reached the scene of the sinking Magic Bus and rescued all five people from the life raft, with the USCG saying they were all “in good health.” The MH-60 Jayhawk had to return to the USS George H.W. Bush for refueling, according to the Coast Guard, before returning the survivors safely to Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City.