‘Nightmare scenario’: Coast Guard rescues man found clinging to cooler after Hurricane Milton

( WFLA ) – Crews with the Coast Guard’s Southeast division rescued a boat captain on Thursday after the man got stuck off the west coast of Florida as Hurricane Milton approached and made landfall.

The boat captain, along with a crew member, had previously been airlifted from his vessel on Monday afternoon about 20 miles off the coast of St. Petersburg, according to the Coast Guard. But he went back to the boat very early on Wednesday morning — about 15 hours before Milton ultimately made landfall — to try and bring it back to shore.

When he wasn’t heard from by noon Wednesday, the owner of the boat called the Coast Guard.

“Watchstanders were able to make radio contact with the captain who reported the rudder was fouled with a line and became disabled during his transit back to port,” according to a press release from the Coast Guard.

Conditions quickly worsened as Milton approached. The captain was instructed to don a life jacket and activate his beacon, but the Coast Guard lost radio contact with the captain less than a few hours before the hurricane hit the coast.

The following day, the boat captain was found 30 miles off Longboat Key, just off the coast, just south of Tampa near Longboat Key, clinging to a cooler.

Video of the rescue shared by the Coast Guard’s 7th District shows a crew with the Coast Guard Air Station Miami making contact before the man is airlifted to safety.

He was transported to a hospital in Tampa. The Coast Guard did not provide details of his condition.

“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady, the command center chief of Sector St. Petersburg, was quoted as saying in the press release. “To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph winds, 20-25 foot seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight. He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating locator beacon, and a cooler.”

Crews with the Coast Guard’s 7th District continue to assess damage and look for anyone in need of rescue in the aftermath of Milton.

The hurricane left millions without power and at least eight people dead after tearing through Florida on Wednesday and Thursday.

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