PREVIEW

This is the heart-stopping moment a man and his dog are rescued from the sea during Hurricane Helene. While on his 36-foot boat in the Gulf of Mexico, the man issued a distress call after his vessel began dangerously taking on water following the storm. The unnamed man and his canine companion were stranded approximately 25 miles off Sanibel Island, Florida. US Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater responded to the distress call, dispatching a helicopter to lift the man and his dog to safety. Dramatic footage captured the moment of the rescue, showing the man and his loyal dog, both wearing life jackets leaving the boat and swimming towards a rescuer who secured them to a gurney before they were hoisted up to the helicopter. The powerful category four storm hit the United States on Thursday evening (26 September), striking Florida first before weakening into a tropical depression as it moved inland, causing destruction in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.