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Two men rescued from two fishing boats two days in a row

 
Published Oct. 17, 2013

HUDSON — Within 17 hours of each other, two men were plucked from the Gulf of Mexico along the North Suncoast after having chest pains aboard fishing vessels.

The first happened Wednesday evening, according to a release from the U.S. Coast Guard. A 72-year-old man aboard the Nina, a 28-foot commercial fishing boat, complained of chest pains.

The boat's master radioed the Coast Guard Sector in St. Petersburg around 5:45 p.m. The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter crew, which found the boat around 7 p.m.

The helicopter crew hoisted the man from the boat and flew him to Tampa General Hospital in stable condition.

Then on Thursday morning, the Coast Guard fielded a call about a man aboard the St. Philip, another commercial fishing boat, 15 miles southwest of Crystal River. The 64-year-old also was having chest pains, the release states.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew found the boat at 11:37 a.m., hoisted the man into the helicopter and flew him to Tampa General Hospital in stable condition.

The Coast Guard did not release either man's name.