Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue, with the assistance of a number of other agencies, took part in a rescue operation Tuesday morning after a pair of hunters had capsized their boat in Mobjack Bay, west of Big Island.

Gloucester 911 received a call from the two hunters shortly after 8:30 that morning. They advised they were trying to climb on top of the boat and did not have any life jackets onboard, according to a release from AVFR.

The AVFR Marine Incident Response Team was notified immediately and began sending resources to the area. The team requested assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and York County Department of Fire and Life Safety due to the potentially large search area and low air and water temperatures.

A VMRC plane was able to divert from another marine incident occurring in the region and located the two hunters and their sinking vessel. The VMRC plane communicated with the AVFR boat and guided the responders to the hunt...