The U.S. Coast Guard has released dramatic footage of its rescue of HMS Bounty crew Monday.

The video shows a helicopter flying low over the ocean. Bounty life-rafts are visible below and crew members can be seen wearing bright orange rescue suits in the choppy water.

The ship sank in storms brought by Hurricane Sandy. Officials say 14 members of the crew have been rescued, but two remain unaccounted for.

Each life-raft has room for 25 people and is covered with a canopy.

Swells reached 5.5 metres

The video shows the Coast Guard helicopter flying over the life-rafts, bringing the crew up one by one.

The helicopter hovered between 4.5 and 9 metres above the water and Coast Guard rescuers can be heard attempting to time the lifts between ocean swells, which reached 5.5 metres. The wind was blowing at 65 kilometres per hour.

The footage shows crew inside the helicopter lowering a rescuer into the water in a basket. The rescuer leaves the basket, helps a survivor into the basket, and it is lifted back into the helicopter.

HMS Bounty last sailed out of Halifax Harbour this summer. (Courtesy Geoff D'Eon)

The first Jayhawk crew arrived at 6:30 a.m. local time and pulled five people from the water. A second helicopter took over when its fuel ran low and saved another nine people.

The video then shows the helicopters landing and rescued crew members walking to waiting ambulances.

The rescue took place 144 kilometres southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina. The Coast Guard said crews aboard a C-130 Hercules and an MH-60 Jayhawk are on scene searching for the two missing crewmembers.

Crews aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Elm and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin are en route to assist with the search, it said.

The Bounty has sunk, but rescue crews reported that the mast is still visible.