Moment U.S. Coast Guard rescues fisherman clinging to refrigerator miles off Florida coast after Hurricane Milton

He really stayed calm.

Dramatic video captured the moment a fisherman was miraculously rescued after he was found clinging to a refrigerator nearly 30 miles off the Florida coast after his boat became stranded overnight in 25 feet of water devastated by Hurricane Milton.

Officials said the man, whose name was not released, was rescued Thursday by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew after he was spotted floating on an open cooler in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

“This man experienced a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” said Coast Guard Officer Dana Grady.

“To understand the severity of hurricane conditions, we estimate that it experienced winds of approximately 75-90 mph and seas of 20-25 feet over an extended period, including overnight.”

“He survived thanks to a life jacket, an emergency position indicating a locator beacon and a refrigerator,” she added.

According to officials, the shocking situation occurred after the man’s fishing boat became stuck near Madeira Beach, Florida, on Monday.

A Coast Guard helicopter flew out to take the man who was the captain and another crew member to safety, leaving the ship behind.

But on Wednesday, the man decided to return to the boat to try to fix the rudder problem – just hours before the hurricane made landfall.

He managed to radio for help again to a Coast Guard station in nearby St. Petersburg, but lost contact around 6:45 p.m., officials said.

Officials told him to prepare for the hurricane by wearing a life jacket and remaining in the ship’s emergency position, pointing to the beacon.

The Coast Guard reported that when contact was lost, waves were about 6 to 8 feet high and winds were about 30 miles per hour.

When rescue crews finally went out to search for the fisherman on Thursday, they were able to locate him about 30 miles off Longboat Key, an island off the coast of the Sarasota area.

Astonishing aerial footage of the rescue shows the fisherman bouncing up and down on the refrigerator while a Coast Guard diver was lowered from the helicopter and then swam over to pick it up.

The man was taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment, the Coast Guard said.

The fate of his boat was not immediately clear.

With postal wires