A man and two boys whose raft got caught in strong currents, drifted several miles and ended up in the Houston Ship Channel were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, a spokesman said Monday.
Staff aboard the Caribbean Princess, a cruise ship in the area, summoned the Coast Guard on Saturday afternoon to assist the raft, said Petty Officer Andy Kendrick.
"It got caught by rip currents at the Texas City Dike," Kendrick said. The raft drifted about 3 miles from the dike and into the ship channel, according to Kendrick.
Coast Guard personnel dispatched a helicopter and two boats and located the man and boys, ages 6 and 17, around 5 p.m. Saturday, an hour after being advised of the adrift raft. No one was hurt, Kendrick said. He declined to release the names of the trio or further details about their raft.
The Galveston County Daily News reports rip currents apparently pushed the raft away from the dike, a popular area for fishing and boating. The raft had oars but nobody on board carried a cellphone, Kendrick said.
The several-miles-long dike was closed following a March 22 barge and ship collision in the Houston Ship Channel that spilled nearly 170,000 gallons of oil. The dike fully reopened in late April.
