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Video shows Florida helicopter crew rescuing man, grandmother from Sanibel Island

SANIBEL, Fla. (WFLA) — Two people and their dog were rescued from Sanibel Island Thursday after their neighborhood was ravaged by Hurricane Ian.

Video released by the U.S. Coast Guard showed an MH-65 Dolphin Crew fly over a neighborhood on the Florida island before hoisting Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Kilbane to the ground.


The guardsman is then seen speaking to a man and his grandmother standing outside their home alongside their dog.

“You did good!” Kilbane told the residents, commending them for being able to get the crew’s attention with a reflector.

The guardsman asked the residents if there was anyone left in the neighborhood, to which the residents said they didn’t know of anyone else around.

The woman was the first to be taken into a basket and airlifted into the chopper above. After she was safely aboard, Kilbane walked back, petted the dog, and got the man and his pup in the basket.

Kilbane and his crew have rescued several people from the aftermath in Sanibel, including a family and their cat.

Sanibel Island, meanwhile, was hit especially hard by Hurricane Ian. Parts of the Sanibel Causeway, the only road to and from the island, were wiped out amid the storm, making the roadway impassable.