KODIAK, Alaska – Rescue crews from the Coast Guard Cutter Munro and an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter safely medically evacuated a crewman from the 281-foot commercial fishing vessel Stellar Sea near Dutch Harbor at 1 p.m. today.
At 11:30 a.m. the Stellar Sea reported to Munro that Melic Elkhar, 40, was suffering from a possible heart attack.
The Munro, 12 miles from the Stellar Sea, launched a small boat with a corpsman and emergency medical technician on board to provide medical assistance while the HH-65 Dolphin helicopter, attahced to Munro, launched from Dutch Harbor.
The helicopter arrived on scene, lowered a rescue basket and the man was safely hoisted into the helicopter. Elkhar was flown five miles to Dutch Harbor and transferred to waiting emergency medical services for further treatment. He was reported to be coherent and in stable condition.
Weather at the time of the medevac was approximately 3-foot seas, scattered clouds with winds of 11 mph and water temperature of 37 degrees.
For more information on the Munro’s underway activities in the Bering Sea visit www.uscgalaska.blogspot.com.
The Stellar Sea is homeported in Seattle.
