KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced a fisherman from the 310-foot fishing vessel Northern Hawk southeast of St. Paul Thursday afternoon.
Coast Guard District 17 watchstanders received a request from the Northern Hawk crew at 2:46 p.m. for a medevac of a 57-year-old crewman reportedly suffering from cardiac distress.
The Northern Hawk crew was requested to divert their course toward St. Paul to get within the helicopter’s range. The helicopter crew, forward deployed to St. Paul, safely hoisted the patient from the vessel and delivered him to awaiting emergency medical crews in St. Paul at 6:40 p.m.
“Due to the vast operating area of Alaska the Coast Guard routinely deploys helicopter crews from Kodiak to forward operating locations, like St. Paul,” said Jennifer Whitcomb, a District 17 search and rescue controller. “The reason for the forward deployed operating locations is so the Coast Guard can provide a more rapid response in the event of a maritime emergency.”
The weather at the time of the medevac was reportedly winds of 34 mph with seas of eight feet.
