A US Coast Guard helicopter rescued the man in the Gulf of Mexico, taking him to Tampa general hospital

A US Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man who was left clinging to an ice box in the Gulf of Mexico after his boat was stranded overnight in waters roiled by Hurricane  Milton.

The man was aboard a fishing vessel that became disabled on Wednesday off Madeira Beach, Florida, hours before the hurricane made landfall, said coast guard press officer Nicole Groll. The man, who was not identified, was able to radio the coast guard station in nearby St Petersburg before contact was lost about 6.45pm.

But on Thursday searchers located the man about 30 miles (48km) off Longboat Key, Florida, clinging to an open cooler chest, a video clip provided by the coast guard shows. In the video, a coast guard diver was lowered from a helicopter and swam to the man to pick him up.

“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” coast guard official Dana Grady said.

Rescue teams continued pull Florida residents from the wreckage of Hurricane Milton throughout Thursday, after the storm smashed through coastal communities, where it tore homes into pieces, filled streets with mud and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes. At least six people were de:ad.

Among the most dramatic rescues, Hillsborough County officers found a 14-year-old boy floating on a piece of fence and pulled him on to a boat.