News Release

HONOLULU – Search and rescue coordinators from Coast Guard Sector Guam partner with crewmembers from the Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron-25 to save a missing diver off the eastern coast of Rota, near Alaguan Bay, Guam, Thursday.

Coast Guard Sector Guam received a call Thursday from the Saipan Emergency Management Office concerning a missing diver. Search and rescue coordinators dispatched the Coast Guard Cutter Washington, homeported in Apra Harbor, and requested assistance from the HSC-25. A Rota Department of Public Safety small boat also responded.

The aircrew aboard HSC-25 arrived on scene and located the missing diver who was clinging to rocks. The helicopter crew hoisted and transported the diver to U.S. Naval Hospital Guam. 

"This case is a textbook example of our inter-agency cooperation and the dedicated professionalism of personnel involved in the search and rescue system," said Lt. Steve Olivera, Coast Guard Sector Guam's command duty officer during the rescue. "The coordination between Coast Guard Sector Guam, Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron-25, and local Department of Public Safety crewmembers saved a life tonight."

The Coast Guard reminds mariners the importance of having a buddy when in the ocean, and early notifications for missing persons at sea. For Guam maritime emergencies, call the Coast Guard 24 hours a day at (671) 564-USCG or 911.