Coast Guard Helicopter Crashes During Rescue

Coast Guard Helicopter Crashes During Rescue

December 8, 2004

By KOMO Staff & News Services

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - A Coast Guard helicopter crashed into the Bering Sea with 10 people aboard while conducting a rescue Wednesday after a powerless bulk freighter carrying 440,000 gallons of fuel grounded on an island in southwestern Alaska.

The Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley picked up four of the 10 people. Six were unaccounted for, the Coast Guard said.

The Selendang Ayu, a 738-foot-long freighter loaded with soybeans and 440,000 gallons of fuel, broke in two when it ran aground on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian chain, the Coast Guard said.

The Selendang Ayu, weighing nearly 40,000 tons, has been adrift in the Bering Sea since Tuesday, coming within two miles of running aground on Bogoslof Island and then heading toward Unalaska Island, home of sea lion rookeries and crab fisheries.
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http://www.komotv.com/stories/34314.htm

may God's mercy be with them and with their families.

Condolences to the families. There are so many heroes in the USCG yet we rarely hear of them until a tragedy strikes.

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=c9d9494d60e7201f&cat=c08dd24cec417021

(CNN) -- A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crashed Wednesday off Alaska's Aleutian Islands while attempting to rescue crew members from a derelict Malaysian-flagged cargo ship, dumping 10 people into the frigid waters of the northern Pacific Ocean, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

According to Cmdr. Jeff Carter, an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter had already evacuated 18 of the 26-member crew from the Selendang Ayu when it went down near Unalaska Island.

"Another helicopter (HH-65 Dolphin) from the Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley, which is on scene, picked up four people and have taken them to Dutch Harbor for medical treatment, their condition is unknown," a Coast Guard statement said. "Six people are still unaccounted for."

...more...

tragic :(

Thursday, December 9, 2004

6 missing in crash of Coast Guard helicopter
Chopper was lifting crew from stricken freighter in Alaska

By MATT VOLZ
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A Coast Guard helicopter crashed into the inky Bering Sea with 10 people aboard last night while lifting crew members from a bulk freighter grounded on Unalaska Island in southwestern Alaska.

Four of the 10 people -- three Coast Guard personnel and one crew member -- were picked up by another helicopter. They were taken to Dutch Harbor on the island for treatment, but there was no immediate word on their condition.

The search continued late yesterday for the six freighter crew members still in the Bering Sea. The water temperature was about 43 degrees, and the waves were as high as 20 feet.

"The survival time is right around three hours in those conditions," said Rear Adm. James Olson, commander of the Coast Guard in Alaska, about four hours after the crash.
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The carrier's 440,000 gallons of heavy bunker oil had been transferred to inboard tanks, and the fuel heaters were turned off to thicken the fuel so in the event of a spill it would not disperse, Petty Officer Thomas McKenzie said.
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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/203044_alaska09.html



The freighter,MV Selendang Ayu.

http://www.gmvgroup.com/diary.htm

*whew*... I went out with a guy who was a on a helicopter search and rescue swim team about 4 years ago. I was amazed with some of the stories he told me... glad to know all CG guys were OK.