DPS spokeswoman Lei Ogumoro said DPS Boating Safety Section acknowledged the assistance of Brian Reyes, Patrick Reyes and Edwin Villagomez during a ceremony on Friday.
Ogumoro said DPS received a call reporting a sinking boat between Saipan and Managaha at about 6:04 p.m. on Dec. 26. She said DPS Boating Safety Section police officers immediately launched their rescue boat, Zodiac III, and responded to the distressed call.
The responding officers met the three individuals who were on another vessel. These individuals helped transport the victims from the sinking boat to Zodiac III.
Ogumoro said the sinking boat was located on the reef line where the water was too shallow and could pose a danger for the rescue vessel.
Reyes and his crew members assisted in pulling the distressed vessel out from the reef line. The vessel was then towed back to the Smiling Cove Marina.
Jason B. Aldan, the operator of the boat that sunk, was with two adults and two children for some snorkeling in the waters off Managaha.
They left Managaha at about 5:30 p.m. and was headed back to Saipan but while heading south in between the two reefs, a big wave hit the boat from behind.
Water entered the boat from the front portion. The boat operator tried to bail out the water but it kept coming in from the side. That was when he called for police assistance.
