Two women who capsized their small skiff Monday in Volcano Bay are in stable condition.
According to U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Travis Magee, the women had symptoms of hypothermia when the Coast Guard crew reached them Tuesday morning.
“After the air crew delivered the two individuals to Dutch Harbor, they were taken to EMS for treatment,” Magee said.
The Coast Guard received a report Monday evening that the women’s roughly eight-foot skiff had overturned in Volcano Bay, on the northwest side of Unalaska Island, he said.
The two individuals had disembarked from a larger vessel that had one person aboard. That person was unable to help the women because of dangerous sea conditions at the time, Magee said.
The Coast Guard notified local mariners and sent out a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Cold Bay to try to find the women.
“In this case, time was of the essence,” Magee said. “They were on shore, they were cold, they were wet.”
But because of low visibility in the area, they couldn’t find the individuals or reach them and had to return to Cold Bay, and another crew had to be dispatched from Kodiak.
“Because the air crew had met their fatigue limits and it was unsafe for them to continue in search efforts, the Coast Guard directed the launch of a C-130 fixed wing airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak,” Magee said.
Despite poor weather conditions, that crew, along with another, were eventually able to land the helicopter and reach the stranded individuals Tuesday morning. They were then handed over to EMS in Unalaska. Magee said this was a complex rescue, due to low visibility in the area at the time.
Ocean conditions can be unpredictable. The Coast Guard urges boaters to be prepared for changing weather and to wear lifejackets at all times when on the water.
