Brothers Rescued From Tampa Bay As Tropical Storm Emily Bore Down

TAMPA, FL — Two brothers from Tampa found themselves in a precarious position Monday morning when their fishing boat broke down and began taking on water in Tampa Bay. With conditions rough due to Tropical Storm Emily’s arrival in the area, the two men ended up clinging to a channel navigational aid while waiting for help to arrive.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg its crew members were alerted to the trouble when a 911 call was transferred from Pinellas County dispatchers around 9:48 a.m. July 31.

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Tung Le, 47, and Thanh Le, 41, told dispatchers they were out fishing aboard their 17-foot boat in Tampa Bay when the engine died. The craft began taking on water. As the two worked on the engine, the boat drifted toward and hit a range light. The two tied their boat off to the light and found themselves forced to cling to it as they called for help while their vessel sank, the guard wrote in an email to media.

"It was dying down when we were out there and finally everything started going wrong," Thanh Le said in a statement issued by the coast guard. "The waves started hitting while we were trying to fix the bilge in the back and when we turned around we were drifting out."

The guard sent a 45-foot response boat from St. Petersburg to find and rescue the men. They arrived at the Tampa Bay Cut Delta Channel outbound rear range light at 10:08 a.m. The two men were brought back to dry land with no apparent injuries, the guard noted.

"Especially now that we are in the hurricane season, it's imperative that mariners double check their local weather forecast before heading out on their next boating adventure," Petty Officer 2nd Class Alejandro Diaz, a crew member aboard the rescue boat from Station St. Petersburg, said in a statement. "It's also important to know your vessel's limitations and parameters prior to getting on the water. Before you and your friends or family get underway, create a float plan on the Coast Guard Mobile App and share it with friends and family on land letting them know your boating plans."

Tropical Storm Emily made landfall in the Anna Maria Island area of Manatee County late Monday morning. The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

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Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard