JUNEAU, Alaska — A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued four people from Knight Island in Marsha Bay in the vicinity of Prince William Sound, Friday afternoon.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Anchorage were initially notified via satellite phone by a good Samaritan who heard the distress call via VHF-FM radio channel 16, stating that a 28-foot Bayliner was taking on water in Marsha Bay. Alaska State Troopers later received an emergency beacon alert from the survivors indicating that they were in distress.
Sector Anchorage watchstanders quickly correlated the two distress calls and launched Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak Jayhawk helicopter and HC-130 Hercules aircraft crews along with a Coast Guard Station Valdez 45-foot Response Boat — Medium boatcrew.
The assets arrived on scene, located the survivors who activated a flare and the Jayhawk crew safely hoisted them.
"This is a perfect example of a worst case scenario where the survivors were prepared and did everything right,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Taylor, watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Anchorage. “Communication was extremely spotty in their location, but they used everything possible from VHF radio to flares to an emergency beacon. This along with our crews fast response time ultimately saved their lives.”
Cell phone reception along Alaska's waterways is often unreliable. In addition to the required signaling devices, the Coast Guard advises mariners to carry a VHF-FM radio, satellite telephone or emergency beacon.
The four survivors were taken to Cordova, Alaska, with no medical concerns.
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