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Lightening Storms, Foggy Weather Make For Dramatic Coast Guard Rescue Of Boater In Distress

TRAVERSE CITY (WWJ) - It was a dramatic rescue off the shores of Traverse City Thursday after the U.S. Coast Guard got the call of a man on a tugboat having chest pains.

Commanding Officer Lt. Rudy Gazvoda says there were lightening storms around that prevented the chopper at first from taking off.

"The helicopter lowered the rescue swimmer down to the deck - he stabilized the patient and got him strapped into a hoisting basket and hoisted him into the helicopter," says Gazvoda.

It took a while for the chopper to airlift the man to safety, then the foggy weather made it difficult to transport the victim.

"Because of the searching around for an airport that they could land at - the helicopter pilot was also getting a little bit nervous because he was getting low on fuel as well - so there was really two reasons to be a little nervous toward the end of this case."

The man is being treated for intestinal bleeding. Gazvoda believes the rescue saved his life.

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