On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard came to the aid of two Bahamians who were clinging to the slick underbelly of their overturned boat. The two unidentified men had reportedly been adrift without food or water for eight days.
It's unclear what exactly the two men were doing or where they were headed — though they were reportedly not trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
A cargo ship spotted the desperate pair and called the U.S. Coast Guard, which then sent out a rescue team. The small capsized vessel was in the middle of the Gulf Stream between the southern tip of Florida and the Bahamas.
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Coast Guard rescue swimmer Kyle Stallings was the first to make physical contact, and with the help of the helicopter crew was able to hoist the two to safety using a rescue basket. "They were on their last ray of hope and they were ready to get off that boat," Stallings told CBS News. The men were visibly shaken, dehydrated, and clearly suffering from hypothermia. "You could see it in their skin, you could see it in their eyes, you could see it in their hands."
The men were airlifted to a Florida hospital and, once they are well, will reportedly have help returning home to the Bahamas.
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