JUNEAU, Alaska — A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew forward deployed in Kotzebue medevaced a crew member from the French cable laying vessel Isle De Sein approximately 80 miles southeast of Barrow Wednesday evening.
The Jayhawk crew hoisted the injured crew member and safely transported him to Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital in Barrow.
Watchstanders at the 17th Coast Guard District command center received a medevac request from the France Rescue Coordination Center reporting a 55-year-old man suffering symptoms of a heart attack. The duty flight surgeon was consulted and recommended the medevac.
“Providing services to Alaska mariners for unpredictable injuries or illness falls under the Coast Guard’s priority of ensuring the safety of life at sea,” said Operations Specialist 1st Class Trevor Frommherz, search and rescue controller, 17th District command center. "Our operational crews, forward deployed in Kotzebue, are ready to respond to emergency medical situations at all times."
The weather on scene at the time of the medevac was 11 miles of visibility, 10-mph winds and ceilings reportedly 2,000 feet.