‘They would have drowned:’ Man punches boat window, saves trapped Oregon crew, he says
An Oregon man’s quick thinking saved several people from drowning when a fishing boat started to sink on Thursday, according to authorities.
Curtis Green, manager of Russell’s Marine Fuel and Supply, jumped into Coos Bay and swam over to the capsized 40-foot Darean Rose in Charleston marina — armed with a hammer that Green intended to use to break into the vessel and free the trapped crew, the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest said in a Facebook post and update on Thursday.
“It was calm waters, a nice day,” Green said, according to the Coos Bay World. “You wouldn’t think it would turn into what it did.”
The boat ran aground and tipped over right after leaving the pier, the Coast Guard said in a news release on Thursday, and watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend were notified of the situation around 3 p.m. Four crew members were on the sinking boat, but one swam to safety as three others were stuck in the vessel filling with water, according to the Coast Guard.
Green said he “saw the people inside beating on the glass. They couldn’t get out because the crab pots blocked the back door,” the World reported.
“I saw the panic in their eyes, I could literally see the whites of their eyes as it was going down,” Green told KCBY. “As soon as the cabin filled with water ... essentially within moments they would have drowned.”
Green “reportedly used a hammer to attempt to break a window and free the trapped crew, but it was ineffective,” according to the Coast Guard.
“With all my clothes and my hammer, it took forever to get out there,” Green told KCBY. “I finally got to them and I hit it probably 30 times, and I just could not get the window to break.”
Green said his hammer fell into the water during the rescue attempt, and he resorted to using boat debris and his hand to bang his way into the sinking boat.
“I hit (the glass) as hard as I could with my fist,” Green said, according to the World. “It finally broke.”
Green then helped the crew members escape the pilothouse, according to the Coast Guard. The crew members and Green waited on the ship’s hull for rescuers to arrive.
The Coast Guard said the rescue took 10 minutes, and “the survivors were transferred back to the pier and treated by emergency medical service technicians for minor scrapes and bruises.”
A video interview KCBY recorded with Green shows his hand bandaged up after the rescue.
A hard boom and absorbent pads are being used to stop environmental pollution after the wreck, according to the Coast Guard, while “the vessel’s owner is working through insurance to contract commercial salvage for the cleanup process. The cause of the incident is under investigation.”
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 9:51 PM with the headline "‘They would have drowned:’ Man punches boat window, saves trapped Oregon crew, he says."
