A fire department staffer, back to the camera, watches as a Department of Public Safety boat transporting three rescued fishermen arrives at Smiling Cove Marina on Wednesday afternoon.
The three rescued fishermen were transported on a Department of Public Safety boat to Smiling Cove Marina on Wednesday afternoon.
THREE local fishermen who were reported missing Wednesday morning were found at around 4:31 p.m. by a buoy near Managaha, according to the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services.
“All three men were found safe,” Police Sgt. Fred Sato, the DPS public information officer, said.
DFEMS spokesman Robert Mojica, for his part, said: “At 1:02 p.m., DPS boating safety unit stated that they were going to do a check around the prepositioning ships for the three missing fishermen.”
“At 4:31 p.m., DPS boating safety unit stated over the radio that they have found the three fishermen and were returning to the Smiling Cove Marina and [are] request[ing] for medical attention,” Mojica added.
“Medic 2 from the Garapan Fire Station did vitals check on all three fishermen, and [the medics] said they [the fishermen] were all okay,” Mojica said.
Variety learned from community members that the three fishermen left Smiling Cove Marina on a boat early in the morning and headed to the prepositioning ships.
When the boat stopped near one of the prepositioning ships, the three fishermen dove and swam away from the boat, its captain said.
Later, the boat captain reported that the three were missing.
Relatives of the fishermen gathered at Smiling Cove Marina to wait for more information about the search.
Two DPS boating safety boats, one Customs Bio security boat, two DFEMS jet skis, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, and multiple civilian boats conducted a search for the fishermen.
CNMI Homeland Security & Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center-State Warning Point earlier issued a high surf and high risk of rip currents advisory.
