Coast Guard rescues 5 people from disabled boat off Florida

NAPLES, Fla. – The U.S, Coast Guard has rescued five people from a boat that became disabled off the coast of Florida.

The Coast Guard said in a news release Saturday that officials received a report after midnight that the 24-foot boat and its occupants had not arrived as expected at a fishing spot in the Gulf of Mexico.

The five where found by an Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew safe aboard the boat, which had mechanical failure and no marine radio. A Coast Guard boat from Ft. Myers Beach brought them to shore.

The Coast Guard encourages all mariners to have a marine-band radio to monitor channel 16 and to have a float plan with someone they trust describing where they are going and when they should return.