KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
A U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevacs a crewmember from the cargo ship APL China, Aug. 22, 2012, in the Gulf of Alaska. The crewmember was taken to land where he will be transferred to a HC-130 Hercules airplane that will take him for advanced medical care. The Coast Guard responded to the medical emergency by diverting multiple assets including aircraft from Air Station Kodiak, Alaska and USCGC Bertholf. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Timothy Tamargo
The Coast Guard performed back-to-back medevacs of two heart attack patients aboard separate cargo vessels out in the Aleutians on Wednesday. The Coast Guard released the information yesterday.
The first call came Tuesday morning, when the Netherlands-flagged ship BBC Denmark reported that a 48-year-old mariner was showing signs of a heart attack. The vessel was nearly 600 miles southwest of Unalaska at the time, and made way toward Adak in an effort to meet a Coast Guard helicopter crew off the cutter Munro. The helicopter was able make contact with the BBC Denmark on Wednesday morning, and the patient was successfully transported to Adak and then on to Anchorage for further care.
Later that day, the Coast Guard received a second call from the container ship APL China, reporting a similar situation happening 225 miles east of Unalaska. The Coast Guard was able to send a helicopter to pick up the 54-year-old patient on Wednesday evening. The man was then sent to Anchorage by way of Sand Point.
At the time of the transfers, both men were reported to be in stable condition.
