2 people, dog rescued from sinking boat off Georgia coast

(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) — Two people and a dog were rescued Monday after their boat sank off the coast of Georgia, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The 28-foot catamaran Pisces began taking on water near St. Simons Sound before sinking near the entrance of the sound, the Coast Guard said Tuesday while sharing details and footage of the rescue.

The survivors hailed mayday on a marine radio and watchstanders who heard the distress call “immediately issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast” and dispatched the Coast Guard Air Station Savannah and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Coast Guard said.

Footage of the rescue showed the dog, Reggie, on a leash tied to the sinking vessel.

The Coast Guard spotlighted how it was able to find the sinking boat following the mayday call.

“We were able to locate the survivors’ exact position because of an alert from their PLB. A PLB transmits personalized distress signals and helps us find you in [search and rescue] missions,” Tyler Murray, a U.S. Coast Guard flight mechanic, said in a statement. “If you own a boat, the USCG highly recommends this equipment.”

The two people and Reggie were transported to Hunter Army Airfield “in good spirits,” the Coast Guard said.

A Coast Guard spokesperson did not have any information on how the vessel began taking on water or updates on the survivors’ conditions.

St. Simons Sound is located near Brunswick, in southern Georgia.