KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The Coast Guard on Tuesday morning medevaced a 33-year-old fisherman who was reportedly showing symptoms of a possible stroke.
The fishing vessel Island Enterprise was near St. Paul Island at the time of the incident. The Coast Guard says that after consulting with a medical care provider, the vessel was advised to transit to St. Paul to prepare for the medevac.
Coast Guard spokeswoman Melissa McKenzie.
“We had a Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak H-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Station Kodiak evacuate a 33-year-old man from a fishing vessel near St. Paul Island. So, the fisherman was medevaced around 3:15 in the morning and then transferred to an awaiting Life Med crew at St. Paul and then further transported to Anchorage to receive additional medical care.”
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard District Seventeen command center received notification of the man’s condition at 4:29 p.m. Monday. The helicopter along with a supporting HC-130 Hercules was dispatched for St. Paul.
McKenzie said the long distance required extra crew because of the time and distances involved.
“From the moment they touched off from Air Station Kodiak it was 5.7 hours until they got to St. Paul Island. So that’s three hours it took for them to get from Air Station Kodiak to Cold Bay. They stopped in Cold Bay to refuel. And then another three hours to get from Cold Bay to St. Paul. And then we had to switch out our flight crew because they exceeded their flight limits. And then that additional relief flight crew, they’re the ones who flew the last remaining leg of like 130 miles to go pull him off the boat.”
The C-130 carried relief crews and provided communication coverage. Plus, since there was no fuel truck available at Cold Bay, the C-130 refueled the H-60, according to the Air Station’s Facebook page.
