Virginia Beach, Va. - Three duck hunters were rescued from Back Bay on Monday morning after their boat started taking on water and overturned.
According to Virginia Beach EMS spokesman Ed Brazle, the incident occurred around 6:00 a.m.
The three men were in the boat near Simpson Island in the southern part of the bay when the boat began taking on water. When the boat overturned, the boat was in shallow water and the men were able to stand up and call 911 to request assistance.
A Coast Guard helicopter was sent to locate the men and rescue boats from the Virginia Beach Fire Department and the EMS Volunteer Marine Rescue Team were launched to assist.
"There were two guys clinging to their capsized boat and one guy was about an 8th of a mile south of them floating in the water," said Captain Jim Rose with the Virginia Beach EMS Marine Team. "With the water temperatures the way it is today and the air temp it would be pretty hard if you didn't have a life jacket."
The helicopter located the men around 7:00 a.m. and the EMS boat arrived a few minutes later to pick the men up.
The men were cold and wet but not injured.
The EMS boat, escorted by the fire boat, transported the victims to shore, where they were turned over to medics. They were evaluated at the scene but did not require any additional medical attention.
Authorities say their names are not being released but one of the men is from Suffolk and the other two are from Isle of Wight.
This is the second time recently that a rescue involving duck hunters has taken place in Back Bay. In November, three duck hunters were rescued after their boat began taking on water.
"December was shaping up to be a pretty busy time of year for us. I don't know if there's a rhyme or reason, it just happens but fortunately we do have trained men and woman who are payed and volunteer to go out and help you," Captain Rose said.
