A 26-year-old fisherman died Friday after he and another crew member were injured in an accident onboard their fishing boat off the North Shore, authorities said.
The US Coast Guard responded to a distress call shortly before 4 p.m., reporting that a snapped rope had struck two crew members on the 25 TO LIFE, a fishing vessel, according to spokesman and Petty Officer 2nd Class Diolanda Caballero. The boat was located approximately 25 miles east of Nahant.
One of the crew members sustained a concussion and perhaps fractured ribs, while the other, later identified as Jaxson Marston, had a broken neck and was “intermittently unresponsive,” Caballero said in a statement.
According to officials, the Coast Guard sent reaction boats and redirected a helicopter to assist with rescue efforts. Shortly after 5 p.m., one of the rescue boats arrived at the 25 TO LIFE and transferred the two crew members to a Gloucester port.
The crew members were transferred to emergency medical services and sent to Beverly Hospital, where Marston was pronounced dead, according to officials.
Maine State Representative Tiffany Strout expressed her sympathy on Facebook.
“Jaxson, only 26 years old, a husband, a dad, hard worker, passionate hunter and a freind to many was doing what he had done many times before, just trying to earn an honest living to support his family,” she wrote. “Now his family can use all the support as they try to move forward with the loss of their loved one.”
Strout also asked the community to keep the other crew member and his family in their prayers, saying that he “needs all the support for him and his family as he tries to recover from his injuries.”
“A reminder that life is short, things can change in an instant and sometime accidents just happen, even with the most caution and readiness,” Strout wrote. “Please keep the fishermen’s family’s in your thoughts and give your family and friends big hugs as I am sending big hugs to the families.”
