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Stranded boaters rescued off Maui

A Navy helicopter crew from Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay rescued three stranded boaters off Maui on Tuesday afternoon after the boaters’ engine died, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The boat crew used an emergency locator beacon at about noon to notify the Coast Guard that they needed help.

The Coast Guard found the beacon was properly registered, contacted the registered contact, and found that the boaters had departed earlier in the day in a 17-foot boat from Kahana, Maui for the north side of Molokai.

A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched, but an H-60 Navy helicopter crew in the area conducting other operations heard the homing beacon and responded.

The Navy crew, from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37, hoisted the boaters from the boat and flew them to Kahului Airport.

“My crew did exactly what they train to do,” said Lt. Cmdr. Megan Barnett, pilot of the H-60. “From hearing the beacon and looking out for a possible vessel, to spotting them waving life jackets at us, all the way through safely executing the approach to the vessel and recovering all three personnel without incident.”

No one was injured, and the boat was salvaged and towed to Molokai, the Coast Guard said.

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