Sheriff Marine Patrol Unit Rescues Five Boaters Stranded At Sea

Deputies from the Broward Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol Unit jumped into action after receiving a radio call from a boat operator roughly three miles east of the Hillsboro Inlet, off-coast Florida, USA.

The distress call reportedly came in around 10am on 7th January, but footage of the drama was released by the Broward Sheriff's Office on 13th February.

The boater reportedly stated that the vessel was taking on water and was located a few miles offshore near the Hillsboro Inlet.

The information was passed to a number of entities, who then joined the quest.

While they were on their way, dispatch informed the two-person unit of a 911 hang-up received by the contact centre from a boater in difficulty.

According to the Broward Sheriff's Office, the call records provided latitude and longitude data, which Deputy Rocha translated to degrees and decimal minutes using a GPS coordinates converter software.

The fresh information showed that the stranded boats were farther out than predicted.

Deputies from the Marine Patrol Unit acted quickly, notifying the US Coast Guard and making contact with the five individuals.

The footage, which was obtained by Newsflash, shows the boaters holding onto a floating raft as they were being carried by the waves and awaiting rescue.

They were escorted one by one into the Marine Patrol Unit boat and given life jackets and water.

Deputies also investigated if any of the men required medical assistance.

Pompano Beach Fire Rescue was called to the dock but had to cancel due to the rescued boaters' request.

The rescued men expressed their thanks to the deputies on board.

They stated that they did not believe they would have survived if the deputies had not discovered them when they did.