Florida Keys boat captain reunites with migrants he helped rescue

MARATHON, Fla. – A mom and daughter from Cuba are actually recovering after being stranded at sea within the Florida Keys almost two months in the past.

Boat captain Chris Lassen stated he’ll always remember the morning of October thirty first when he noticed the pair, alongside with two males, floating in what regarded like items of a boat or raft.

Lassen, who works for Two Conchs Charters in Marathon, was taking individuals out for a day of fishing when he heard the cries for assist.

“The closer I get, it’s even worse of a situation than I ever could have imagined,” Lassen recalled.

In video recorded by one in every of Lassen’s passengers, a person could possibly be heard shouting, “she’s dying,” referring to the lady who was dropping consciousness.

“They’re yelling at me, and I see this little girl behind her, between the guy. And the little girl is looking at me,” Lassen stated.

Lassen stated he began throwing water bottles from his boat to the foursome and known as the Coast Guard.

“You could just tell that it wasn’t a good situation,” he stated. “It actually chokes me up a little but thinking about it because, to see them in that situation is really bad.”

In minutes, a U.S. Navy rescue helicopter arrived and a rescue diver dropped into the water to swim to the group. Everyone was hoisted to security, earlier than the mom and daughter had been rushed to an area hospital.

U.S. Border Patrol helped join the pair with an area non-profit in Miami to offer shelter.

Now, almost two months later, Lassen has reunited with the mom and her daughter named Yudeimis and Claire simply earlier than the vacations. He gave them garments and was in a position to spend time with the pair.

“They were drifting straight east,” he stated. “They weren’t even going to make it to land for another two days. [Yudeimis] would have never made it.”

Lassen instructed Local 10 News that the mom and daughter are doing a lot better because the incident and Claire is presently enrolling at school.