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U.S. Copters Rescue 32 on Ship in Atlantic

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Associated Press

Two U.S. Air Force helicopters that had to be refueled in flight hoisted all 32 people aboard a damaged Cypriot freighter to safety Saturday during a daring rescue in the stormy North Atlantic.

“It is the most dangerous mission I’ve ever been on,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. David Freeman of Sacramento, Calif. “But everything went well.”

The helicopters flew the West German captain, identified only as Pietersen, his wife, the West German engineer, and the 29-member Filipino crew to Ireland.

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The West German-owned ship, the 42,000-ton Yarrowanga, was bound from Norway to the St. Lawrence Seaway in Canada to take on iron ore when it was caught in a gale Friday that put two large gashes in the hull.

The ship’s engine failed, but the crew restarted it and the ship was moving under its own power toward Ireland when the rescuers arrived.

The Yarrowanga was listing in 30-foot seas and 50-m.p.h. winds when one of the helicopters first tried unsuccessfully to land on the deck, rescue organizers said.

The long-range HH-53C helicopters, based in Woodbridge-Bentwaters in eastern England, had flown to Shannon International Airport in Ireland Friday night and took off early Saturday for the flight of more than 200 miles to the vessel.

They were refueled en route by two long-range HC-130 Hercules tanker aircraft and reached the Yarrowanga in the early afternoon.

The first helicopter lifted up 15 people with a winch and the second aircraft hauled up the rest.

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“This was a textbook rescue operation,” said Maj. Ken Stafford, leader of the U.S. rescue squad. “Everything went according to plan. All taken off the stricken ship are in good health, and none of them will need to be hospitalized.”

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