LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Two crew members ejected from a U.S. Navy jet before it crashed Wednesday off the San Diego coast and were quickly rescued by a sportfishing boat, authorities said.

The two occupants of the E/A-18G Growler were first picked up by the Premier Sportfishing vessel then transferred to a nearby Customs and Border Protection vessel, said Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer Christopher Sappey.

On a live webcam of San Diego harbor traffic, someone aboard the Premier can be heard telling the Coast Guard that the crew members ejected right after takeoff.

“We’re on our way to help assist," the man called in about 10:14 a.m. “They’re in the water.”

Shortly afterward, someone from the boat added, “We have both pilots on board and safe."

Brandon Viets, captain of the Premier, said he had taken a dozen passengers out by Point Loma on a fishing trip when he heard a jet taking off from the naval base that “seemed a little louder than normal.”

He turned to look and saw two people dropping out of the aircraft with parachutes. Viets immediately headed toward them in his boat. The jet remained in the air for several minutes before diving into the water, he said.

“All I could see was a plume of water and mud and muck, 70 to 80 feet tall," Viets said.

“Captain Brandon Viets and the crew of the Premier acted swiftly, and thanks to their professionalism, were able to bring these pilots to safety," Frank Ursitti, general manager of H&M Landing, the company that books the boat, said in a news release.

The two men were taken to an area hospital, where they were in stable condition, authorities said.

The Coast Guard has two vessels now safeguarding the Growler wreckage in the San Diego Harbor, Sappey said. The cause of the crash is under investigation, the Navy said.

The Growler is a two-seater jet that specializes in electronic warfare.

A similar Navy jet crashed last October during a routine training flight in Washington state, killing its two crew members. The aircraft wreckage was found in remote mountainous terrain.

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This story has been edited to correct the spelling of the boat: Premier, not Premiere.

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Copp reported from Washington, D.C.

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