KODIAK, Alaska – Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak aircrews flew more than 1,900 miles southwest of Kodiak to conduct a medevac of a 35-year-old Filipino crewman aboard a 738-foot bulk carrier about 85 miles southwest of Shemya Saturday.
Eric Prudenciado, a Filipino resident, was reportedly suffering from abdominal pains for more than 72 hours aboard the Grecian-flagged Asia Graeca. The vessel’s crew contacted the Coast Guard District 17 command center watchstanders Friday requesting a medevac.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew and an HC-130 Hercules aircraft, with an additional aircrews, were launched from Kodiak Friday and overnighted in Shemya while the Asia Graeca transited within range of the helicopter’s offshore limits.
A second Air Station Kodiak helicopter crew successfully hoisted Prudenciado about 8:30 a.m. Saturday from the Asia Graeca and delivered him safely to a Guardian Flight, a commercial medevac service, in Shemya for further medical treatment.
Due to the long-range nature of the medevac, two Jayhawk aircrews and two Hercules aircrews were utilized. Flying from Kodiak to Shemya is the equivalent of driving from Seattle to Oklahoma City.
Weather at the time of the hoist was mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain and snow and 20 to 30 mph winds and a temperature around 40 degrees.
The crew of the Asia Graeca is continuing their transit from South Korea to Seattle.
