A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak C-130 Hercules aircrew assisted the Alaska State Troopers in locating three male overdue boaters near Hazen Bay, Alaska, Friday.
The Alaska State Troopers requested assistance from the Coast Guard in searching for the three boaters that were reported to have left Chevak, Alaska Wednesday and were due in Newtok, Alaska Wednesday evening. The boaters were reported to not have emergency communication equipment on board.
The Air Station Kodiak aircrew located the boaters who were waving their arms on shore of Hazen Bay Friday evening, and air dropped them a VHF handheld radio and MREs.
The Alaska State Troopers were notified and directed a search and rescue vessel to the location.
"This was a great outcome for a search in such challenging visual search conditions, but thankfully our sensor operators are highly skilled and were able to spot the boaters quite quickly due to the fire they had built," said Lt. Cmdr. Lars Anderson, Air Station Kodiak pilot. "It is incredibly important for boaters to carry a means of communication that can help rescuers locate them when they are in distress. We were ecstatic to help these guys and to work with the Alaska State Troopers." - Video by Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak
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