Heart-stopping footage captured the dramatic rescue of two divers who were swept away in the deadly, turbulent waters of a Caribbean island amid Hurricane Erin.
The storm rapidly intensified into a catastrophic Category 5 monster over the weekend before slightly weakening to a Category 4 on Saturday evening.
Its power has been barreling west across the Atlantic, with sustained winds of 160 mph and the potential to generate waves exceeding 30 feet, depending on the storm’s size.
The Virgin Islands are already bearing the brunt of the storm, as the Erin unleashes punishing winds and relentless downpours across the region.
On Saturday afternoon, two men who were swept away by rough surf while diving were rescued in the waters off St. Croix - the largest of the Virgin Islands.
The high-stakes rescue, first shared by
The Virgin Islands Consortium, rescue shows the two men being pulled from the storm-tossed sea after they failed to make it back to their vessel amid Erin’s fury.
The two men ventured roughly seven miles north of St. Croix with a third companion on Saturday morning, according to the outlet.
Before diving, they agreed on a return time in case they became separated - but when two of the men failed to return by the agreed time, their friend immediately called for help.
Just after 1.30pm, the the US Coast Guard activated both St. Croix Rescue and the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) to aid in the search.
'A helicopter was on the way to assist,' said Jason Henry of St. Croix Rescue told the outlet. 'However, we found them before the chopper arrived.'
In the rescue footage, the crew’s boat is seen crashing over the choppy waves, momentarily airborne as it leaps beneath a fading blue-gray sky - the unmistakable warning of a storm closing in.
But thanks to GPS tracking data, rescue crews pinpointed the men’s location at sea around 3.24pm.
The harrowing footage shows two men tiny against the vast, gloomy ocean bobbing helplessly atop the violent waves.
A rescuer threw the men a yellow rope attached to a platform which the men managed to grab and rescuers pulled them in, ultimately bringing them back to safety.
Once rescued, the divers told officials they couldn’t get back onto their vessel because of the high waves, and that the rough currents caused them to drift away, according to the outlet.
The National Weather Service and local authorities continue to warn residents to avoid the ocean during the storm.
(continued at the link)
