Coast Guard plans major rescue effort for stranded residents of Pine Island, Florida
CBSN
Paramedics and other volunteers with a group that helps rescue people after natural disasters went door to door Saturday on Florida's devastated Pine Island, offering to evacuate residents who rode out Hurricane Ian only to find themselves stranded in a landscape of flooded homes without water or electricity.
The largest barrier island off Florida's Gulf Coast, Pine Island has been largely cut off from the outside world. Ian heavily damaged the only bridge to the island, leaving it only reachable by boat or air.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office reported Saturday evening that the U.S. Coast Guard was planning a "waterborne" Pine Island evacuation effort Sunday.
An American Airlines jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night while coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. The Black Hawk helicopter was carrying a crew of three. Officials said early Thursday that everyone on board both aircraft is believed dead, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly a quarter century.