Source: Coast Guard Air Station Sitka conducts non-maritime medevac of injured man on Baranof Island, Alaska

JUNEAU, Alaska — U.S. Coast Guard crews across the state of Alaska responded to a multitude of cases over the holiday weekend, conducting three medevacs and assisting 16 people, and two dogs. 

“Crews worked continuously throughout Alaska this holiday weekend,” said Rear Adm. Megan Dean, commander of the Coast Guard’s 17th District. “I am extremely proud of our women and men who are always on call serving Alaskan communities and saving lives. I am also grateful to our federal, state, and local partners, and to the maritime community. Their efforts saved lives this weekend.” 

May 25: The Coast Guard medevaced a crew member from a ship 125 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Saturday. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station Kodiak hoisted the 27-year-old man at 7:35 a.m. and transferred him to an awaiting commercial medevac service in Dutch Harbor. Watchstanders at the 17th Coast Guard District command center received a medevac request at 3:39 p.m. Friday from the captain aboard 853-foot Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship Matson Lanai. The captain reported a crew member was experiencing stroke-like symptoms while enroute from Long Beach, Cali., to Shanghai, China. 

May 25: The Coast Guard assisted five people on a disabled fishing vessel near Sitka, Alaska, Saturday. A 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew with Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team Seattle 91101, currently operating out of Sitka, towed the disabled vessel to Sitka. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska received a relayed report from Sitka Dispatch that 35-foot commercial trawler Kari Ann was disabled, unable to drop anchor, and drifting toward rocks in the Western Channel. The vessel was towed, Sunday, to Allen Marine.

May 25: The Coast Guard and Alaska Rescue Coordination Center teamed up to medevac a crew member from a fishing vessel 30 miles southeast of Togiak, Alaska, Saturday. The injured crew member was transferred ashore in Togiak by a local fisherman on a small boat. Once in Togiak, an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center transported the patient from Togiak to Anchorage where he was met by emergency medical services. Watchstanders at the 17th Coast Guard District received a relayed phone call from fishing vessel Alaska Victory requesting a medevac for a 42-year-old man experiencing a leg injury, Saturday. 

May 25: Good Samaritan vessel Grinch rescued six people and a dog, Saturday, after their 18-foot pleasure craft, Black Pearl, sank near Deep Creek in Cook Inlet, Alaska. All were safely transported to awaiting emergency medical services at Deep Creek tractor launch. No injuries were reported. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic received a mayday broadcast on VHF channel 16 stating a vessel sank with six people and one dog aboard near Deep Creek in Cook Inlet. Watchstanders issued an urgent marine broadcast. 

May 26: The Coast Guard medevaced an injured crew member from a tug near Chirikof Island, Alaska, Sunday. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak hoisted the patient and transported him to awaiting emergency services in Kodiak. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic command center received a medevac request Sunday evening from the captain of tug Sadie for a 38-year-old man experiencing a head injury. 

May 26: The Coast Guard conducted a non-maritime medevac of a man on Baranof Island, Alaska, Sunday. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka hoisted the injured man and his brother and transported them to Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska command center received a phone call from the father of the men stating his son, a 21-year-old man, experienced a leg injury while on an ATV trip with his brother near Appleton Cove. They activated their InReach device, the MH-60 helicopter crew arrived on scene, and hoisted the two men. 

May 27: The Coast Guard and Fire and Rescue personnel from Ted Stevens Airport assisted two people and a dog after their skiff became disabled in Cook Inlet, Monday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic received a 911 call relayed from the Anchorage Police Department reporting a disabled 22-foot skiff with four people and one dog aboard. The vessel’s engine was overheating and couldn’t run for more than a few seconds. The vessel deployed their anchor approximately 500 yards from shore. 

The Coast Guard Seventeenth District reminds mariners to register their Emergency Positioning Information Radio Beacon (EPIRB), a vital tool to signal the Coast Guard in emergencies.

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