JUNEAU, Alaska — A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced a mariner from a cargo ship in the Gulf of Alaska 160 miles east of Kodiak Saturday.
The Jayhawk crew rendezvoused with the vessel, Horizon Kodiak, safely hoisted the injured 39-year-old man, who was reportedly suffering from chemical exposure, and brought him to Kodiak for medical attention.
Coast Guard 17th District command center watchstanders received the medevac request from the crew of the Horizon Kodiak Saturday morning and directed the launch of the Jayhawk crew and an HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew for oversight. The Horizon Kodiak crew, originally 200 miles from Kodiak, began closing distance to expedite the medevac.
Once on scene, the Jayhawk crew conducted the hoist and returned to Kodiak, where emergency medical personnel were waiting.
“Coast Guard crews in Alaska often perform long range medevacs at sea,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Erik Ihle, an operations specialist at the 17th District command center. “To ensure the safety of our own crews, as well as those we are rescuing, we often deploy more than one asset to assist in a response.”
The injured man was listed in stable condition upon transfer to emergency medical personnel in Kodiak.
Weather on scene was reported as 23 mph winds and six-foot seas.
