First responders rescued three people after their single-engine plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Vero Beach, Florida. 

Border patrol, sheriff’s deputies and responders from other agencies rescued the survivors after the Cessna Skyhawk crashed about one mile offshore around 8:30 p.m. Sunday. 

The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said in a release that a helicopter they dispatched spotted the pilot and both passengers as they floated in the ocean. 

“At first, I thought it was debris. Then, when we zoomed in, we noticed it was three separate heat signatures. I could identify them as actual people in the water,” IRCSO Deputy Jonathan Lozada, who was piloting the helicopter, told WPEC-TV.

Rescue boats and a rescue swimmer retrieved the three people and brought them back to shore for medical treatment. The survivors had been treading water for about 90 minutes before being rescued.

The pilot said he had severe rib pain, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a release. 

“I could tell in the look in his face, the way his pupils looked dilated from a distance, the way he was behaving, that he was struggling to stay above water, he didn’t have much more time,” CPB Agent Williams, who did not provide a first name, told WPTV-TV, referring to the pilot. 

Neither CBP nor the sheriff’s office mentioned any other injuries suffered by the two passengers who were rescued. 

The Federal Aviation Administration did not say what caused the plane to crash.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.