Irish fisherman survives 30 minutes in icy waters after falling overboard
James McCarthy, 35, who is originally from Ringaskiddy in Co Cork, fell from his brother’s fishing boat into the icy waters of the Gulf of Alaska last Friday.
It is perilous seas featured in the hit TV series, Deadliest Catch.
But thanks to his brother Peter’s swift actions and his crew’s medical training, James was recovering at home on Kodiak, off Alaska’s southern coast last night, after his release from hospital just days after cheating death.
The US coastguard hailed Peter and his crew for their role in his dramatic rescue.
James McCarthy, a successful and well-respected trawler captain in Kodiak’s fishing industry, was fishing with Peter on Peter’s 58ft FV Stella when he fell overboard in the Shelikof Strait on Friday.
The crew reacted immediately, activated their emergency procedure, and threw a life buoy to him. They issued a mayday, and braved heavy swells, strong gusts, and freezing spray to recover him.
It is understood that he was found floating unconscious and in a critical condition, clinging to the life buoy.
The coastguard said James had been exposed to water with a temperature of just 3C, without a survival suit for about 25 minutes, and was suffering from extreme hypothermia.
The average survival time in water that cold without a survival suit should only be about 15 minutes.
The Stella crew warmed him and performed CPR, while a coastguard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak rushed to the scene.
They airlifted James, and a crewman continued treatment on the 45-minute flight back to Air Station Kodiak.
An ambulance then took James the short distance to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center.
A hospital spokesperson confirmed last night that he has been released after treatment.
The US coastguard hailed the crew for the quick thinking.
“This crew did everything right to rescue this man and this is a perfect example of why vessel crews need to practise their emergency drills monthly,” said petty officer 1st class Chris Cole, an operations specialist and search and rescue controller.
“They were fortunate to be so close to Kodiak and our hoist-capable helicopters allowing the patient to be delivered to advanced medical care in a matter of hours.”
His colleague, petty officer 1st class Sara Francis, said James was very lucky to be alive, and that the actions of his crewmates were key to his survival.
“In the 11 years, I’ve seen maybe one or two man overboards survive such conditions,” she said.
“The Stella has an excellent record and a good captain, and they have all the right equipment on board. The skipper moved very quickly to react to the situation and the crew prepared well to recover the casualty on board.”
Their parents, Val and Dick, said they were delighted and relieved, to say the least, that everything had worked out.
“Peter said [James] was almost gone when they pulled him out of the water. He was in a bad way,” said Val.
“But James was always into sport — he loved hurling and football as a youngster, and golf now of course — so he was always fit and strong.
“And he’s still not out of the woods. They need to do more scans and monitoring. His lungs were badly affected.”
