U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Lauren Dean.
KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter aircrew medevac a man approximately 130 nm southwest of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Thursday.
At 11:02 a.m. an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew hoisted the man and transferred him to awaiting commercial medevac services in Dutch Harbor for further transport to Anchorage.
At 1:32 p.m. Wednesday, command center watchstanders received a medevac request from the 653-foot merchant vessel Morning Peace for a 48 year-old crewmember reportedly experiencing symptoms of appendicitis. The Duty Flight Surgeon was consulted and a medevac was recommended. Initially 530 miles south of Unalaska Island, Morning Peace proceeded toward Dutch Harbor throughout the night to close the distance. The Jayhawk aircrew launched from Cordova at 8:30 p.m. and arrived in Dutch Harbor at 7:21 a.m. Thursday morning after refueling in Cold Bay.
“Cooperation between Morning Peace and Coast Guard crews made this possible,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Dustin Lake, District 17 operations unit watchstander. “The Morning Peace traveled more than 400 miles to make this medevac possible and updated us on the patient’s condition every four hours. Thanks go out to them for getting their crewmember within range of our helicopter so we could get him the medical care he needed.»
An HC-130 Hercules aircrew has also participated in the medevac mission.
On-scene weather was an air temperature of 48 degrees, 31-mph winds and 5-mile visibility.
-USCG-
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