Coast Guard Rescues All 37 Aboard Soviet Ship in Storm

A Soviet freighter carrying flour to Cuba rolled onto its side in rough seas more than 200 miles off the New Jersey coast Saturday, and Coast Guard helicopters plucked all 37 people off the ship in a dramatic rescue, officials said.

The mission, 210 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, was “wet and dangerous,” said Coast Guard Lt. Keith Comer, who directed the rescue in 45-m.p.h. winds as 25-foot waves crashed over the ship.

One Minor Injury

Only one of those aboard the 482-foot Komsomolets Kirgizii was injured, suffering a cut finger, officials said.

The freighter, carrying 10,292 tons of flour, was traveling from Nova Scotia to Cuba, Navy officials said.

A Coast Guard cutter and at least one Soviet vessel were en route to the freighter late Saturday, Coast Guard Lt. David Hill said.

“We don’t know if it sank,” he said, adding that if its cargo got wet, the ship would likely go down in waters about 12,000 feet deep.

When the first helicopter arrived at the ship at about 11:20 a.m., the freighter was listing about 30 degrees and being pummeled by waves, Comer said.

“The entire port side was awash,” he said. “We immediately dropped a basket to them. We had a little bit of trouble in the beginning.”

The first two people rescued were a woman and a child, he said.

In the next half-hour, 13 more people boarded the first helicopter, which started back when a second craft arrived. The next craft picked up 16 and a third picked up the remaining six, including the skipper, authorities said.

“We made it just in the nick of time,” Comer said. By the time the rescue was completed, the ship was listing dramatically in the water, he said.

The three Coast Guard helicopters that rescued the sailors landed at the Federal Aviation Administration Technical Center here. The sailors, carrying life preservers, were led into a hangar nearby.

The ship’s engine apparently had stopped because of an oil problem, FAA spokesman Tony Willett said.

“I think the engine ceased, the boat turned broadside and waves hit it, which caused the flour to shift,” he said.

While awaiting the arrival of U.S. State Department officials and a Soviet vice consul from Washington, the Soviet crew members “are just sitting and smoking more cigarettes than I think are humanly possible,” Willett said.

Most of the crew members did not speak English and “could only communicate a very little bit,” Comer said.

“They seemed to be scared and when I got on the scene I could understand why,” he added.