Coast Guard rescues two after abandoning ship in North Bristol Bay

JUNEAU, Alaska - A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter aircrew along with a HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew from Air Station Kodiak located and rescued two people in the water after abandoning the Intrepid, a 32-foot aluminum vessel, in North Bristol Bay Saturday as it was taking on water.

Shawn Elliott, 27, contacted Coast Guard Sector Anchorage command center about 12:53 p.m. reporting his vessel was taking water over the railings and he along with Nick Kailukiak, 31, were going to abandon ship. The Coast Guard command center immediately launched the Jayhawk and diverted the Hercules aircrew which was conducting a logistics flight from Cordova.

The Hercules was first on scene locating the two people in Nushagak Bay with their survival suits on. O nce the Jayhawk aircrew arrived on scene at 3:45 p.m. they safely hoisted the two fisherman and transferred them to Dillingham where local emergency medical services were waiting.

"Having working survival suits and donning them prior to abandoning ship allowed the Coast Guard the valuable time necessary to arrive on scene and conduct a successful rescue." said Lt. Herbert Law, command duty officer for the Seventeenth Coast Guard District. "Without these suits the outcome may have been drastically different."

Weather on scene was reportedly 40 knot winds, 8-foot seas and water temperature was 48 degrees.

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