Stranded hunters rescued near St. Lawrence Island

A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter inside a hangar at Cold Bay in early October, so that Kodiak-based air crews can respond quickly during the winter fishing season. (Photo courtesy Petty Officer 1st Class Charly Hengen/Coast Guard District 17)

Two hunters from Savoonga stranded on the Punuk Islands east of St. Lawrence Island, 664 miles northwest of Kodiak, were rescued on Nov. 29 by the U.S. Coast Guard.

An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew made the 700-mile trip and took the men to Nome for further care. One of the men reportedly had been ill for several days and they had very limited communication devices with them.

They used a VHF-FM handheld radio to hail a Ravn Alaska aircraft flying overhead and relayed that they were in distress, that their boat was inoperative, and they had no way to get back to their snow machine on St. Lawrence Island. Ravn Alaska notified RCC Anchorage, which deployed the 212th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen via a 211th Rescue Squadron HC-130 to assess the condition of the hunters, drop survival gear to them and provide medical assistance as needed.

District 17 Command Center assumed mission control and directed the Coast Guard helicopter launch, along with the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley with an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter embarked to assist with the rescue.

Weather on scene was freezing spray, 14-foot seas, gale force winds and blowing snow.

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