THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 13, 1996 TAG: 9606130382
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WENDY GROSSMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 39 lines
A helicopter crew from a Norfolk-based ship plucked a Somali man from the storm-tossed Arabian Sea on Wednesday after a merchant ship on which the man was a passenger capsized off the coast of Oman.
The man, one of two survivors in the accident, was among 14 people aboard a 215-foot cargo ship that ``was inundated fairly suddenly by a storm and rolled over'' hours before dawn Wednesday, said Cmdr. Jim Miller, captain of the Norfolk-based destroyer Caron.
One survivor was rescued by a Kuwaiti oil tanker at daybreak. That ship passed word of the sinking on to the U.S. 5th Fleet, which dispatched the Caron, about 120 miles away.
The Caron launched its SH-60B Seahawk helicopter, which is based in Mayport, Fla., to look for survivors. About 2 p.m. Arabian time, 10 minutes into its search, the crew spotted a man afloat on a piece of wood and an orange life jacket.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Corbin Martin jumped into the water and swam 25 yards through 10-foot waves to the man and carried him back to the helicopter.
``The hardest thing was the current, going back through the waves,'' Martin said.
The man had been in the water for about 14 hours, Miller said.
``He said he may have been bumped by a shark or two,'' said the chopper's pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Glen Kanust. ``But he didn't lose any parts. He survived and he was happy.''
``He's up walking around and talking,'' Miller said.
The chopper returned to the scene after refueling. Despite a search that lasted until dark, its crew found no other survivors.
``I've been in the Navy for 11 years, and this is the first rescue I've ever had,'' Kanust said. ``We wish we could have found some more.''
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT BOAT DROWNING U.S. NAVY
RESCUE by CNB