Mar 25 West Beach raft rescue
Two girls on raft rescued after being swept out into Gulf of Mexico in Gulf Shores | AL.com
By Marc D. Anderson | manderson@al.com
on March 25, 2014 at 2:26 PM, updated March 25, 2014 at 4:08 PM
Quote:
Two young girls on a raft were rescued by city lifeguards and the U.S. Coast Guard Tuesday afternoon after being swept out into the Gulf of Mexico by strong north winds, gusting up to 30 mph.Vacationer Richard Mason of Guntersville, Ala., said he called police after he realized the girls were in trouble. The incident happened about 1:30 p.m. in the 2400 block of West Beach Boulevard, west of Little Lagoon Pass.
“They went from about a mile to two and a half in about 10 minutes,” Mason said.
Gulf Shores lifeguards on a waverunner reached the girls about 2 p.m. and a Coast Guard boat arrived shortly thereafter to bring the girls to shore, according to Gulf Shores Fire Chief Hartley Brokenshaw.
Brokenshaw said the girls were showing signs of hypothermia so the Coast Guard took them on board and planned to meet their mother at the Fort Morgan Ferry terminal at the tip of the peninsula.
The initial call said the girls were 12 years old but Brokenshaw could not confirm that.
NOTE: 63 degree water can kill a child or small adult in just a few hours!
