Update 3:30 p.m. - Rescuers retrieved two hunters in distress from Shinnecock Bay off Southampton Village's Meadow Lane on Saturday afternoon, according to a fire department spokesman.
One victim was retrieved from the bay by Southampton Fire Department Water Rescue and the second was picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard, Capt. Chris Brenner said, adding that the first patient lost consciousness after being brought onto the fire department boat, but firefighters revived him.
The patients were transported to Coast Guard Station Shinnecock in Hampton Bays, where they meet Hampton Bays Volunteer Ambulance to be taken to the hospital. The two men were conscious and responsive when they arrived at the Coast Guard station, Brenner said.
He said men had been hunting on the flats of Shinnecock Bay, where the water is about 6 inches deep, when a fog rolled in. They began to head back to shore, but got disoriented and yelled for help. "Someone heard screams coming from the water," and called 911, he said.
It took GPS, radios and other equipment and technology to find the men, who had wandered into deeper water, Brenner said, though he noted that the water was not over their heads.
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Rescuers retrieved two people in distress from Shinnecock Bay off Southampton Village's Meadow Lane on Saturday afternoon, according to a fire department spokesman.
One victim was retrieved from the bay by Southampton Fire Department Water Rescue and the second was picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard, Capt. Chris Brenner said. The patients were being transported to Coast Guard Station Shinnecock in Hampton Bays where they will meet Hampton Bays Volunteer Ambulance to be taken to the hospital, he said around 12:50 p.m.
A dense fog Saturday morning made it difficult to locate the victims.
The patients' conditions and identities are unknown at this time, Brenner said.
He said he does not know why the victims were in the bay, near Road D. They could have been swimming, clamming or boating, but the details are not clear at this time, he said.
The situation was called in by a passerby, Brenner said. "Someone heard screams coming from the water."