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US Coast Guard rescues man clinging to cooler miles off Florida coast
A U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter crew hoisted a man to safety after he was found clinging to a cooler about 30 miles off Longboat Key, Fla. (Credit: U.S. Coast Guard Southeast)
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew located and rescued a man who was seen clinging to a cooler in the Gulf of Mexico nearly 30 miles off Florida’s central-west coast after Hurricane Milton.
Coast Guard District 7, which covers South Carolina, Georgia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Caribbean Sea and Florida, posted video of the miraculous rescue Thursday afternoon.
In the video, a Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Miami is seen approaching the man clinging to a cooler as a member of the crew is lowered into the water.
The crew member then swims over to the man in distress, before the video ends.
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A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man clinging to a cooler nearly 30 miles off the coast of Longboat Key, Fla. (U.S. Coast Guard Southeast)
USCG Sector St. Petersburg said it was in communication with the man on Wednesday, but lost contact with him at about 6:45 p.m., as Category 3 Hurricane Milton was bearing down on west Florida.
According to the Coast Guard, the man was spotted Thursday about 30 miles off Longboat Key, and taken to Tampa General Hospital for medical treatment.
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GOES-16 GeoColor satellite imagery provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. (NOAA via AP)
Longboat Key is about 10 miles north of Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall on Wednesday night packing 120 mph wind gusts.
As of Thursday evening, about 3.2 million people in Florida were still without power.
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While Milton has left a trail of destruction across the Sunshine State, it remains a Category 1 storm and has moved off the state’s east coast.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.