U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kurt Fredrickson.
KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew, forward-deployed to Cold Bay, medevac a mariner from the bulk carrier Restinga, Wednesday, near Cold Bay.
The MH-60T Jayhawk Medium-Range Recovery Helicopter aircrew safely transported the 42-year-old male to Dutch Harbor, where they conducted a wing-to-wing transfer with a LifeMed crew, who then transported him to Anchorage for further care.
At approximately 1 p.m., the 17th District Command Center watchstanders received a call from the Alaska Maritime Agency in Dutch Harbor reporting the individual was suffering from a possible stroke while the vessel was 140 miles south of Dutch Harbor.
At 2:01 p.m., an aircrew aboard a HC-130J Super Hercules aircraft launched from Air Station Kodiak to respond to the incident. At 2:54 p.m., the rescue helicopter aircrew also launched to respond, while the vessel made its way closer to Cold Bay.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Keith Alholm.
Both Coast Guard assets arrived on scene at approximately 4:30 p.m. and the helicopter aircrew successfully deployed a rescue swimmer to recover the patient for transport.
“Two assets were used to complete the medevac due to the vessel’s distance offshore,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Dustin Lake, an operations specialist stationed at the command center in Juneau. “The MH-60T was the asset conducting the hoist while the HC-130 was there as a communications platform. In the event something happened to the helicopter, they would be there to drop lifesaving rescue equipment. Having a secondary aircraft is a common procedure in the Coast Guard and reduces the risk during operations conducted so far offshore.”
-USCG-
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