Coast Guard rescues three Tennessee boaters off Hernando coast

CLEARWATER — The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three people from Tennessee after their boat capsized Wednesday some 15 miles off the Hernando County coast.

The agency said in a news release that the boaters called at 2:09 p.m., saying their flat bottom fishing boat was taking on water and they needed assistance.

A Jayhawk helicopter crew located the men west of the small community of Bayport wearing life jackets and clinging to the capsized boat. They rescued Karim Odeh, Mark LaRoche and Kevin LaRoche, all of Cookeville, Tenn.

The crew hoisted them into the helicopter and took them to Tampa General Hospital for further evaluation. They had been in the water for about an hour. There was no additional update on their conditions.

“After everything went wrong, these men did everything right,” said Lt. Tim Keily, the Air Station Clearwater helicopter co-pilot. “They immediately called for help, wore their life jackets and stayed with their boat.”