AFRAS to Hold Award Ceremony on October 7
On October 7 in Washington, D. C., the Association for Rescue at Sea (AFRAS), will award its Gold Medal and a cash prize to United States Coast Guardsman Roman D. Baligad, Aviation Survival Technician Second Class for a heroic rescue on 30 December, 2002. AFRAS will also present its AMVER plaque to the captain and crew of the Japanese-flagged ship M/V AUTOMOBIL ACE for exceptional humanitarian service in a rescue at sea. The award ceremony and reception will be co-hosted by The Honorable Howard Coble, co-Chairman, U.S. Congressional Coast Guard Caucus. The Gold Medal awardee – Roman D. Baligad - is cited for heroic achievement while serving as rescue swimmer aboard helicopter CGNR 6533 out of CG Air Facility Newport, OR.
Coast Guard Recovers Person from Search Area
A Coast Guard helicopter crew located and recovered a person from the water in the search area of the sunken tug Primo Brusco 27 nautical miles northwest off Florence, Ore. The man, who was wearing an immersion-type suit, exhibited no vital signs and was transported aboard the helicopter back to Coast Guard Air Station North Bend. The man's identity is being determined by the Coos Bay coroner. The Coast Guard has suspended the search. Coast Guard Capt. Darrell Folsom, commander of search and rescue operations, has contacted the family of the missing mariner. In the early hours of Monday morning, the tug Primo Brusco sank 20 miles west of Florence, Ore. A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued four of the five men who abandoned ship.
Coast Guard Rescues Four Mariners off Central
Oregon Coast Coast Guard crew from Oregon safely recovered four of the five crewmen from the water this morning when the 99-foot Ocean Going Tug PRIMO BRUSCO sank 18 miles off Florence, Ore. The Coast Guard is continuing the search for the one remaining crewman, believed to be wearing his survival suit. At 2:30 a.m., the master of the PRIMO BRUSCO reported flooding and within five minutes the crew abandoned the ship. Three of the crew took refuge in the tug’s life raft, while the other two were reported to have entered the water in immersion suits. Two rescue helicopters arrived on scene and quickly located the life raft. The three on board the life raft were recovered by a Coast Guard rescue boat. One helicopter crew located a person in the water and hoisted him to safety.
