KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued two men after their boat began taking on water during a storm in the Gulf of Mexico.
The vessel was drifting when the men were spotted on Sunday after the Coast Guard in Key West received a "digital selective calling" report from the boat. It was about 30 nautical miles northwest of Marquesas Key.
The Coast Guard says the boat's sail had torn and the hull had cracked.
A Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Miami hoisted the men from the boat and took them to Key West International Airport.
Lt. Matthew Swanner says the conditions were the worst he and his crew had ever experienced in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time of rescue, there were 40-knot winds and 20-foot seas.
2 men rescued by @USCGSoutheast from storm in Gulf of Mexico. See video: https://t.co/TBzWDeHd33 pic.twitter.com/Bfy2DC4xRf
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) January 18, 2016
