Coast Guard aircrew medevacs 2 near Friday Harbor, Washington

News Release

July 15, 2018 U.S. Coast Guard 13th District Pacific Northwest Contact: 13th District Public Affairs Office: (206) 220-7237 After Hours: (206) 391-5864 13th District online newsroom

Coast Guard aircrew medevacs 2 near Friday Harbor, Washington

 

SEATTLE -- A Coast Guard aircrew medically evacuated two boaters from Friday Harbor, Sunday night, after they sustained severe injuries when their vessel ran aground.

The Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles aircrew, aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, transported the two from Friday Harbor to Harbor View Hospital in Seattle for further medical care.

Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound watchstanders received a call at approximately 6:30 p.m. reporting a 47-foot sailing vessel, with four people on board, had struck a submerged object and began taking on water.

A Seattle-based boat crew from the Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST), aboard a 25-foot Response Boat, was the first to arrive on scene and assisted in dewatering the sailing vessel.

Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Lion were in the area and diverted to the scene.

After patching the sailing vessel’s hull and pumping water out of the bilge, the Sea Lion crew escorted the sailing vessel back to Friday Harbor.

The MSST crew took the injured boaters, a female and her husband, aboard their vessel and transported them to Friday Harbor to get checked out by awaiting Emergency Medical Technicians.

Once the vessels made it to shore, the Coast Guard helo crew medevaced the injured boaters and transported them to the Harbor View Hospital.

The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.

 

-USCG-