129th Rescue Wing From Moffett Field To Treat Injured Man Aboard Boat 900 Miles Off Coast

MOUNTAIN VIEW (KPIX 5) – California Air National Guard rescuers from the Bay Area are trying to save a man on a boat hundreds of miles out on the Pacific Ocean.

A C-130 aircraft from the 129^th Rescue Wing took off from Moffett Field Tuesday afternoon.

The Air National Guard unit received a call from the U.S. Coast Guard Tuesday morning about a man who was seriously injured on a vessel about 900 miles out to sea. Officials said those on board with the man do not have what they need to take care of him.

"Our unit does not typically get called for every single rescue," 129^th Rescue Wing 1^st Lt. Roderick Bersamina told KPIX 5. "Really, we're only called for the most extreme, most severe situations."

Guardsmen from the 129^th Rescue Wing parachuted into the open ocean to board the vessel and tend to the patient.

Bersamina said the goal was to "stabilize the patient and bring him back to safety."

The team is credited with saving the lives of more than 1,000 people. Last year, the 129^th Rescue Wing rescued a sick infant off The Rebel Heart, her family's sailboat that became broken down off the Mexican coast.

"Our combat mission is to save lives in contested areas, that is what we train for every single day." Bersamina said. "And in fact, this rescue operation, although a real world scenario where we will be a saving a person's life is considered overall training for federal mission, which is combat rescue."