By Sentinel Staff
A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka helicopter crew picked up two stranded hunters in the mountains behind Nakwasina Bay Sunday morning in a rescue delayed by weather.
The hunters called for help around 6 p.m. Saturday when they became “cliffed out” on the mountains and unable to proceed safely, the Coast Guard said. The helicopter crew launched at 6:53 p.m. but had to return to Sitka after running into bad weather conditions. The crew launched again at 7:05 a.m. Sunday, successfully hoisted them, and returned them to Sitka in good condition by 7:58 a.m.
The two hunters had been flown into the area by seaplane, the Coast Guard said.
In another Coast Guard call over the weekend, a passenger was medevacked off the cruise ship Zuiderdam in Lynn Canal, 30 miles northwest of Juneau.
Staff on the cruise ship called the Coast Guard at 8:50 p.m. Friday to say the 73-year-old passenger was having medical complications. The helicopter aircrew arrived at 11:13 p.m., hoisted the man aboard and flew him to an awaiting Lifemed aircrew in Juneau for further transport.
In yet another call Friday, the Coast Guard medevacked a man from the container ship Matson Anchorage 150 miles southwest of Sitka. The captain of the ship contacted the Coast Guard around 5 p.m. Friday to report a 45-year-old crew member was experiencing health complications.
The aircrew hoisted the patient from the vessel into the helicopter, and flew him to Sitka, where he was taken to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, the Coast Guard said.
“The quick response in this case displays the dedication and readiness of our aircrews from Air Station Sitka and from the watchstanders here in Juneau,” said Chief Petty Officer Alden Gornick, Sector Juneau command duty officer, in a news release. “I’m glad we were able to conduct the medevac efficiently and get the patient to a higher level of medical care.”
