The U.S. Coast Guard rescues a man clinging to a box of ice drifting in the Gulf of Mexico, 30 miles off the Florida coast.
The man was previously stuck on a fishing boat that stalled off Madeira Beach, Florida, hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall on Oct. 9, U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Nicole Groll said on Oct. 10.
The man was still able to communicate with the Coast Guard station near St. Petersburgs before losing contact at 6:45 p.m. Oct. 9.
After a night of rough seas due to Milton, rescuers found the man clinging to a box of ice drifting in the ocean, 30 miles off Longboat Key. Coast Guard divers jumped from a helicopter to reach the man and took him to Tampa General Hospital.
The man survived 75-90 mph winds and waves as high as 25 feet overnight, according to the Coast Guard. The fate of the fishing boat is unknown.
“He survived the worst nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariners,” said Coast Guard Officer Dana Grady.
Hurricane Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida on the night of October 9 as a Category 3 storm. After a few hours of sweeping across Florida, Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 storm and then downgraded to a Category 1 storm early on October 10, before heading out into the Atlantic.
Many trees and power poles were broken, trucks were overturned, and houses were severely damaged. The Department of Homeland Security recorded at least 10 deaths.
Rescue officials are working to pull residents from the rubble, and have rescued 340 people and 49 pets. In one dramatic rescue, Hillsborough County rescuers rescued a 14-year-old boy who had drifted on a piece of fence.
Milton is the fifth hurricane in the US and the third to hit Florida this year, causing widespread damage. Two weeks earlier, Hurricane Helene swept through the southeastern US states, killing at least 237 people.
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