Ahead of a very busy holiday weekend at the beach in eastern North Carolina, there have been several emergencies on the water in the past few days.
North Carolina Wildlife officers said a man died Sunday night when he was struck by a pontoon boat's propeller near Shackleford Banks. Investigators said Scott McComas, 54, was trying to free the rented boat from a sandbar when he was struck by a propeller.
In Pender County, a man was hospitalized on Sunday after he was struck by lightning while sitting on an idling boat in the Intracoastal Waterway. Bystanders performed CPR and officials said 53 year old man was identified as Jason Gurganus is currently at the UNC Burn Center. A second person on the boat was not injured.
Wildlife officials said this is the second lightning incident along the coast this year. Most lightning related deaths and injuries happen in July in the United States, and a recent report shows that North Carolina ranks fourth for the number of deaths and injuries caused by lightning.
Authorities with the Indian Beach/Salter Path Fire Department said a tourist from New York died Monday afternoon in an ocean swimming incident near Frisco on Hatteras Island.
A boater was rescued by the Coast Guard and the National Park Service after his trawler ran aground near Shackleford Banks on Monday. The Coast Guard was deployed after a commercial towing company was unable to get a towline to the boat. The boater was taken to shore by a rescue swimmer.
