SITKA, Alaska – A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka helicopter crew conducted two medevacs overnight saving the lives of two men with heart difficulties in Southeast Alaska.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew was launched shortly before midnight for the evacuation of a 55-year old male from the small town of Hoonah, 144 miles north of Sitka. Commercial services were unable to assist due to weather concerns. The Coast Guard crew safely transferred the patient in stable condition from the Hoonah clinic to emergency medical personnel from Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka.
Medical treatment for the 90 minute flight to Sitka was provided by the rescue swimmer, Aviation Survival Technician Third Class Travis Peck, and Hospital Corpsman Third Class Majorie Butler the Sitka duty corpsman.
Shortly after landing early this morning, the helicopter crew was again called to action to medically evacuate an 85-year old male, a Canadian national, from the 866-foot cruise ship Mercury located 30 miles west of Sitka in Cross Sound. The crew executed a basket hoist recovery from the ship and provided medical assistance en route to Sitka where the man was safely transferred in stable condition to emergency medical personnel.
These operations bring the total number of search and rescue cases the Coast Guard has conducted in Alaska this fiscal year to 559 with 174 lives saved.
