US Coast Guard Rescues 4 Adults, 1 Child After Plane Crash In Bahamas

Five plane crash survivors were rescued Monday night in Bahamas, the U.S. Coast Guard crew confirmed in a news release. The crew had spotted them floating on a life raft in southeast of Nassau, capital of Bahamas.

Search and rescue team located the survivors around 10:20 p.m. local time, nearly three hours after the single engine Cessna 172 aircraft crashed into the sea. The aircraft was flying from Crooked Islands, Bahamas, to Nassau, according to the release.

The watch standers, upon being alerted by the Coast Guard about the crash, deployed an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to search alongside the Royal Bahamian Defense Force. The rescued people were transported back to the Bahamas. Among the survivors was one child and no casualties were reported, the release stated. Only five people, including the pilot, were aboard the small aircraft.

The pilot had reported engine problems before abandoning the plane in the sea, the Tribune, a local daily, quoted Bahamas' Transport and Aviation Minister Glenys Hanna Martin as saying.

According to Chris Lloyd, operations manager of Bahamas Air Sea and Rescue, the pilot made the distress call around 7:23 p.m. He told the Tribune that the search teams were clear about the crash location, which helped them speed up the rescue efforts. Lloyd added that favorable weather conditions aided the persons on board to exit the plane safely.