USAF Rescue Far From Land Chinese Sailors
Two Chinese sailors died and six are missing after their boat caught fire and sank in the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. Air Force said on Sunday. The boat sank on Friday and the survivors were picked up by a Venezuelan fishing boat. Seven sailors were in good condition, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona said on its website. Two of the Chinese sailors died of burns and two were critically burned, it said. Rescue teams from Davis-Monthan flew on Saturday to the Venezuelan vessel, about 1,100 nautical miles (2,050 km) west of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to provide medical care. Airmen parachuted into the water and used inflatable life rafts to reach the fishing vessel.
U.S., Thai Navies Conduct Live-Fire Practice at Sea
A ship-deployed surface target (SDST) was launched from USS Tortuga (LSD 46) during a gunnery exercise with the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) June 23, in the Gulf of Thailand. The live-fire target practice was the first major event during day one of exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training’s (CARAT) Thailand at-sea phase. CFAO is embarked aboard Tortuga during CARAT to provide targets for gunnery exercises. CFAO also launched a target drone from the Tortuga June 24 for an RTN tracking run. CARAT is an annual series of bilateral maritime training exercises between the United States and six Southeast Asia nations designed to build relationships and enhance the operational readiness of the participating forces. Thailand is the second phase of the summer-long exercise series.
