Archive image: Crews from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka, Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman, Sitka Mountain Rescue, and Sitka Fire Department conducted a week-long search and rescue exercise in Sitka, Alaska, May 9 through May 12, 2023. Crews tackled a series of mini scenarios ranging from lost hunters to an avalanche scenario. The exercise culminated with a mass-casualty event involving multiple agencies responding in concert to a scene with 40 survivors in distress. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
JUNEAU, Alaska – A Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk aircrew rescue a boater (63-year-old male) after his vessel ran aground on the southeast side of Hump Island, Alaska. Thursday, October 19, 2023,
A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60T Jayhawk Medium-Range Recovery Helicopter aircrew located the boater at a cabin on Hump Island at approximately 8:20 a.m. The rescue aircrew landed, embarked the man, and transferred him to local emergency medical services (EMS) personnel awaiting at Juneau International Airport.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska received a report from a friend of the overdue boater at 12:40 a.m. Thursday that he witnessed the 63-year-old man run hard aground in a 16-foot skiff at Hump Island.
The friend reported that the on-scene weather didn’t allow him to assist, and that the man didn’t have communication or survival equipment.
A 16-foot skiff aground on the shore of Hump Island, Alaska, October 19, 2023.
A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew located the man at a cabin on Hump Island at approximately 8:20 a.m.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Air Station Sitka MH-60 aircrew.
Involved in the search was:
“The weather conditions made the search difficult, but our crews persisted,” said Lt. Lindsey Wheeler, Sector Southeast Alaska command duty officer. “Boaters are encouraged to always carry multiple means of communication to assist our crews in a timely response.”
On-scene weather at the time of the initial report were winds: 26 knots gusting to 37 knots, seas: 3 feet, water temperature: 50 degrees, air temperature: 50 degrees.
–USCG–
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