2 from sunken boat fend off sharks during Coast Guard rescue

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Coast Guard says two people from a sunken fishing boat were fending off sharks in the Gulf of Mexico when a crew rescued them and one other person from waters off the Louisiana coastline. It happened Sunday. The Coast Guard launched a search after a relative reported the three people failed to return from a fishing trip Saturday evening. The 24-foot, center-console fishing boat sank Saturday morning and stranded the three people without communication devices. The three were wearing lifejackets and one was showing signs of hypothermia when they were rescued about 25 miles offshore from Empire, Louisiana — a small community southeast of New Orleans.