NEAH BAY — A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Port Angeles hoisted three adults and one child to safety from a cliff near Cape Flattery earlier this week.
There were no injures, Coast Guard officials said.
The Coast Guard received a distress call at 10 p.m. Tuesday from the captain of a disabled 28-foot fishing vessel that was beginning to drift near the cliffs between Tatoosh Island and Cape Flattery, according to a press release.
All four people on the boat were wearing life jackets.
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter rescue crew launched from Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles and a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Neah Bay diverted to the area.
The boat crew arrived at the fishing vessel at 10:30 p.m. but rescuers were unable to get close enough to the stricken vessel, Coast Guard officials said.
The four people on the fishing boat, who were not identified by the Coast Guard, managed to climb onto a ledge before the boat capsized after running into rocks at about 10:45 p.m.
Swells were 6.6 feet, winds were gusting to 20 mph and the water temperature was 58 degrees at the time of rescue, according to National Weather Service observations.
The Coast Guard aircrew arrived at 11 p.m. A rescue swimmer was deployed to hoist the individuals one by one into the helicopter.
The helicopter crew flew to Station Neah Bay to drop off the first two survivors. The remaining survivors were picked up around midnight and brought to safety.
“All four reported no medical concerns,” Coast Guard officials said Wednesday.
The Coast Guard posted a 3 minute, 30 second video clip of the rescue. Click on www.tinyurl.com/PDN-CapeFlatteryRescue.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
