CAPE HATTERAS, N.C. – Coast Guard rescue crews saved a man who’s fishing vessel caught fire and sunk about 8-miles East of Kitty Hawk, N.C., around 2:20 p.m. June 13, 2004.

The man radioed in a mayday before abandoning his boat into an inflatable life raft.  A rescue helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., and a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Oregon Inlet, N.C., immediately launched.  The man kept in contact with the Coast Guard officials via cell phone from his life raft until rescue crews arrived on scene.   The rescue helicopter hoisted the man along with his activated 406-megahertz electronic positioning indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) into the aircraft to be taken to Elizabeth City. 

When activated, a registered 406 EPIRB provides rescuers with the position and type of the vessel along with other critical information. The Coast Guard considers EPIRBs to be an invaluable asset to boaters in distress - It can mean the difference between life and death.