The authorities received a distress signal on Tuesday morning from a small propeller plane that had to make a forced landing. Fortunately, eleven people were able to be rescued after spending several hours clinging to a raft following a plane crash off the coast of Florida in the United States, announced the US Coast Guard on Wednesday.
“They had been in the raft for about five hours. It was clear they were in distress,” revealed Rory Whipple, an air force officer, during a press briefing the next day.
“I don’t know anyone who has survived a forced landing in the ocean,” he added. “They had no means of communication and didn’t even know we were coming until we were right above them,” he continued. A crew from the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, already in flight for a training exercise, joined the rescuers to locate the group.
In total, 11 Bahamian nationals, all adults, were rescued. An investigation has been opened by the Bahamas into the causes of the accident, which is thought to be due to an engine failure, according to the US Coast Guard. “I don’t know anyone who has survived a forced landing in the ocean,” emphasized Air Force commander Elizabeth Piowaty. “It’s truly miraculous that all these people survived,” she insisted.
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