Three Cookeville men were rescued west of Bayport, Florida Thursday after their boat capsized in the Gulf.
Mark LaRoche, Kevin LaRoche and Karim Odeh radioed the Coast Guard Thursday afternoon their boat had begun taking on water north of St Petersburg.
According to the Coast Guard, the men’s 15-foot flat bottom fishing boat had capsized when they arrived. The three were wearing life jackets, holding on to the capsized boat. A helicopter hoisted the men and transported them to Tampa General Hospital for observation.
“After everything went wrong, these men did everything right,” Air Station Clearwater Lt. Tim Keily said. “They immediately called for help, wore their life jackets, and stayed with their boat.”
The three men had been in the water for about an hour.
