Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton

A fishing boat captain left clinging to a cooler in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida in the wake of Hurricane Milton has been rescued, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued the captain Thursday, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Longboat Key, and brought him to a Tampa hospital for treatment, the military branch said in a statement.

"This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner," Dana Grady, the U.S. Coast Guard's Sector St. Petersburg command center chief, said in a statement.

"To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph (120-145 kph) winds, 20-25 foot seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight," Grady said.

"He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating locator beacon, and a cooler."

The man was the captain of a fishing vessel that broke down on Monday along Florida’s Gulf coast.

He and a crew member were rescued by a Coast Guard aircrew and the boat was left at sea while salvage arrangements were made.

But early Wednesday, the captain returned to the stricken vessel to attempt repairs, and the boat's owner reported him unaccounted for as the monster storm approached.

When reached by radio, the captain told the Coast Guard the rudder had been compromised while returning to port, leaving him stranded.

Authorities lost contact with him later in the day, just hours before Milton made landfall as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 hurricane.

Approximately 19 hours later, wearing a life jacket and clinging to the cooler, the captain was rescued Thursday by a Coast Guard helicopter crew -- for the second time this week.

© Agence France-Presse