Air Station Kodiak helicopter crews perform two rescues in 24 hours

Wednesday night was a busy shift for Air Station Kodiak helicopter crews.

According to two different press releases, Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews responded to a rescue Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.

The first press release details a rescue in which five hunters were stranded for four days on an ice pack near Cape Espenberg, nearly 30 miles southeast of Kotzebue.

An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 hoisted them around 4 p.m. Wednesday after one of the hunters signaled for help with a satellite communication device around 11 p.m. Tuesday. The hunters reported that their twenty-foot boat had gotten stuck in the ice pack.

Air Station Kodiak helicopter crews stayed busy. According to the second press release, a local helicopter crew assisted two stranded fishermen and their dog after they stranded their vessel.

At 6 a.m. Thursday morning, an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the two fishermen and their dog from a beach in Cochrane Bay. They were then transported to the Whittier Airport.

Sector Anchorage watchstanders were notified around 3 a.m. of the overdue vessel from the wife of one of the fishermen. The two of them had gone shrimping Tuesday and were expected back within 24 hours. The radio onboard their vessel was not working, and they were not able to report their stranding.

There were no reports of injuries or pollution.