Coast Guard rescues man from ship fire near Chirikof Island

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Coast Guard rescued a sailor after his vessel caught fire Tuesday near Chirikof Island.

The crew of a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter landed and picked up the man on Chirikof Island at 1:11 p.m. and transported him with minimal injuries to waiting emergency medical services at Kodiak Air Force Base.

Monitoring officers at the Coast Guard District 17 command center received a distress signal at 11 a.m. Tuesday from a personal locator beacon (PLB) on the 35-foot Australian-flagged sailboat.

Observers from Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and the U.S. Arctic located the location of the beacon, coordinated the launch of the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, and diverted a crew from a HC-130 Hercules in flight from Kodiak Air Force Base.

Crews arrived on scene at 12:57 p.m. and located the owner on the shore of Chirikof Island, who claimed to have escaped from the burning vessel in his dinghy and stranded it on the island. He was the only one on board.

The signal contained a user-generated remark indicating that the operator was on a multi-year sailing voyage around Alaska as well as a list of its proposed itineraries and ports of call.

“This sailor’s responsible actions to properly register his device and include detailed information about his trip allowed the Coast Guard to immediately determine that the owner was in distress,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ben McIntyre-Coble, search and rescue mission coordinator for Coast Guard District 17. “We are happy that the Coast Guard was able to provide the urgent assistance needed at his exact location, and we are grateful that he will be able to see his loved one.” once again.”

The Coast Guard urges all mariners to equip and register a PLB or Emergency Locator Beacon (EPIRB) on their vessel before any trip to sea.

-USCG-

Australia, Chirikof, medical evacuation, rescue, sailboat