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Alaska Ice Rescue: Child & 3 Others Saved from Floe
16 Apr
Summary
- Four people, including a child, were rescued from an ice floe.
- The rescue involved battling severe Alaskan weather conditions.
- Communication devices on the vessel aided the successful rescue.
A challenging U.S. Coast Guard rescue operation successfully saved four people, including a child, who were stranded on an ice floe in Alaska. The group had been on a subsistence seal hunting expedition near Chefornak when their vessel became trapped by moving ice.
After being stranded for over 24 hours, Alaska State Troopers contacted the Coast Guard on Saturday. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak reached the location on Sunday evening. Despite facing extreme conditions such as 28-degree Fahrenheit temperatures, 29 mph winds, near-zero visibility, blowing snow, and icing, the crew managed to hoist all four individuals to safety.
The rescued individuals, three adults and one child, were transported back to Chefornak without any reported injuries. The pilot-in-command noted the mission was exceptionally difficult due to numerous aviation weather hazards. The presence of three communication devices, including satellite-based technology, on the hunting party's vessel was crucial in facilitating the aircrew's ability to locate them.
