Video: Passenger Medevaced From Boxship in Heavy Fog

On Friday, a U.S. Coast Guard aircrew medevaced a 27-year-old passenger from a container ship about 40 nm to the west of San Luis Obispo, California. 

The captain of the 10,000 TEU boxship Hyundai Jupiter contacted Coast Guard 11th District and asked for medical help, reporting that a passenger had taken a 16-foot fall and had sustained injuries. 

The district dispatched a Spartan search aircraft and a Dolphin helicopter crew to assist. Once on the scene, the Dolphin crew lowered their rescue swimmer and a stretcher to hoist the patient into the helicopter, then carried the man to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. The patient was reported to be in stable condition. 

"The offshore environment always tries to throw surprises - especially with the fog bank not predicted to be to the surface," said Lt. Kristin Euchler, the MH-65 Dolphin co-pilot for this rescue. "Luckily with all the prior coordination, we were able to shoot the approach through the clouds with a solid radar hit of the large vessel."

ATB medevac

The day before, a Coast Guard aircrew out of Sector Columbia River medevaced a crewmember from the ATB tanker Commitment off the coast of Grays Harbor, Washington, 

At about 1400 hours on Thursday, the sector received a VHF call reporting that one of the ATB's crewmembers had been cut on the face and the eye while working in engine room. Watchstanders dispatched a Jayhawk aircrew about 45 minutes later, and the helicopter arrived on scene at about 1530 hours. The aircrew transported the victim back to shore, and he was was transferred to a hospital in Astoria for treatment.