Fishermen ‘lost at sea’ in life raft rescued from Gulf of Mexico off Dauphin Island

Two fishermen “lost at sea” in a raft for nearly three days were down to their last flare when a passing vessel saw the fading signal in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The “distressed” boaters were rescued 63 miles off Alabama’s Dauphin Island, Tuesday, Oct. 11, the Coast Guard said in a news release. The island sits at the entrance to Mobile Bay.

“The two boaters woke up Saturday night with half of their vessel already submerged,” the Coast Guard reported. “They got in a life raft and … were lost at sea for two days.”

They escaped the fast-sinking boat with six signal flares, and “the first five had negative results,” the Coast Guard said. “On their last and final flare they were spotted by a passing commercial tug Linda Moran.”

The crew of the Linda Moran plucked the men from their raft shortly before noon Tuesday, officials said. The tug was traveling from Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Tampa, Florida, when crew spotted the flare, records show.

A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter airlifted the men “to emergency medical services personnel at Pensacola Regional Airport,” officials said.

Identities of the boaters were not released. They were listed in stable condition on Tuesday. Photos show the two were alert while being airlifted to shore.

Details of their port of origin and what caused the boat to sink were not released.

Dave Goodwin III, who works aboard the Linda Moran, shared photos of the rescue on Facebook and reported the men are commercial fishermen.

“They had been at sea for over 2.5 days when we found them drifting. … Their 36 ft fishing boat had sank in the middle of the night while at anchor, and they barely made it into the life raft,” Goodwin wrote in a Facebook post.

“Although they were very hungry, they were in overall good health and were extremely grateful we came to their rescue. … I am very proud of my fellow shipmates.”

Photos show the men managed to get a small amount of supplies and two paddles into the raft before their boat sank.