A 68-year-old crewmember was medically evacuated on Tuesday, May 17, from a commercial fishing vessel near Cordova.
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak aircrew on board a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter forward deployed to Cordova hoisted and transported the patient to commercial services in Cordova for further care.
The rescue came after Coast Guard officials in Anchorage received a request for assistance from the crewmember’s wife, who told them her husband had suddenly stopped texting her after stating he was “in trouble” due to lack of oxygen on board the vessel.
The Coast Guard made multiple attempts to communicate with the vessel, but all were unsuccessful.
Arriving on scene at midnight the aircrew found the crewmember was having trouble breathing and had no access to oxygen. Communications on scene were reportedly severely degraded. Winds in the area at that time were 10-12 knots, with air temperature 43 degrees.
