Crewmember medevaced from bulk carrier near Cold Bay

A crewmember aboard a bulk carrier flagged in the Philippines was air lifted to medical services in Cold Bay On Aug. 22 by a Coast Guard helicopter crew responding to reports that the man was suffering from abdominal pain.

A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the 44-year-old man from the Bulk Freedom in the vicinity of Cold Bay and transported him 90 miles to Cold Bay for further transport to Anchorage.

The Bulk Freedom was some 400 miles from Cold Bay when the rescue for medical help was made and the Coast Guard instructed the bulk carrier to sail closer to Cold Bay, said Petty Officer 1st Class Blaine Pama, District 18 Command Center watchstander. A Jayhawk helicopter and crew were pre-staged at Cold Bay on the evening of Aug. 21 to ensure expedited medical care, the officer said.

Weather on scene at the time of the hoist was winds south-southeast at 11.5 miles an hour, with five-foot seas.

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