Courtesy of Provincetown View
PROVINCETOWN – A harrowing rescue at sea in Provincetown. In the middle of the raging snowstorm around 9:40 p.m. reports came in of a fisherman overboard from a vessel at MacMillan Wharf. Provincetown Police and Fire responded along with the Harbormaster and U.S. Coast Guard. The man was being pulled out in the channel by the current before being rescued. He was brought back to the pier where an ambulance was waiting to evaluate him for evaluation. He was taken to Cape Cod Hospital.
Provincetown Police released the following statement: At approximately 9:41 p.m. tonight the Provincetown Police Department along with the Provincetown Fire Department, DPW, Harbormaster’s Office and United States Coast Guard responded to a male in distress in the water. High winds and blinding snow pushed the man further out from McMillan pier, making rescue efforts difficult. The male was then plucked from the water by members of the Provincetown FD with the assistance of the Harbormaster. The male had apparently fallen overboard from a docked vessel. He was transported to the Cape Cod Hospital for incident related injuries.
The above photo and below video are also courtesy of Provincetown Police:
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Sunday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard released the following statement with new details: A Coast Guard 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew along with the Provincetown Harbormaster and Provincetown Police and Fire Departments rescued a fisherman after he fell overboard Saturday night near MacMillan Wharf in Provincetown.
Coast Guard watchstanders received a mayday call from the fishing vessel Resolute at around 9:30 PM Saturday stating a crewmember had fell overboard near the pier.
The crew of the Resolute threw the man a life ring, which had a strobe light attached to it, but were unable to recover him.
A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Provincetown arrived on scene at around 9:45 PM, along with the Provincetown Harbormaster.
“The weather was nasty,” said Chief Petty Officer James Zerinskas, the coxswain of the 47-foot Motor Lifeboat. “The wind was around 28 knots, visibility was only a quarter mile, and air temperature was 27 degrees at the time.”
Despite the conditions, the harbormaster was able to locate the fisherman by seeing the flashing strobe attached to the life ring. Two Coast Guard crewmembers quickly transferred over to the harbormaster’s boat and assisted in pulling the man from the 39-degree water.
The man was immediately moved to Provincetown Emergency Medical Services personnel to be treated for hypothermia.
“He’s alive because of the life ring and strobe and the fast response of the Provincetown crews,” said Scott Backholm, the command duty officer at Sector Southeastern New England’s command center. “This demonstrates the importance of having a life ring with an operable strobe light.”
