Video Available: Coast Guard medevacs cruise ship passenger in the vicinity of Kake, Alaska

News Release

July 11, 2017 U.S. Coast Guard 17th District Alaska Contact: 17th District Public Affairs Office: (907) 463-2065 After Hours: (907) 209-8731

Video Available: Coast Guard medevacs cruise ship passenger in the vicinity of Kake, Alaska

Editors' Note: Click on image to download high resolution video.

JUNEAU, Alaska — A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka, Alaska, MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced a passenger from the cruise ship Explorer of the Seas in the vicinity of Kake, Alaska, Tuesday.

The Jayhawk crew safely hoisted the man and transported him to awaiting emergency medical services personnel in Sitka.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Juneau command center received a medevac request from the captain of the Explorer of the Seas stating a 68-year-old man had fallen down stairs, seriously injuring his ribs and suffering other injuries. A Coast Guard flight surgeon was briefed and recommended the medevac. "In a situation like this, our main priority is to get assets on scene as soon as possible to ensure the injured receive the treatment they need,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class John Parker, watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Juneau. “The swift action of the aircrew along with the expertise of the Explorer of the Seas crew allowed the man to be quickly transferred to higher medical care.” 

Weather on scene at the time of the hoist was 10-mph winds.

2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the Coast Guard’s presence in Alaska. On August 12, 1867 the Revenue Cutter Lincoln transported the first federal officials to Sitka for the formal transfer of proprietorship from Russia on October 18, 1867. Since then, the Coast Guard's duty to protect the people and waters of Alaska and the Arctic has grown alongside the 49th state's ever-increasing role in American commerce, Arctic exploration and national sovereignty.

 

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