Latest news with #AlaskaAirNationalGuard
Miami Herald
28-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
700-pound boulder pins man in creek as spouse fights to save him, AK officials say
A multi-agency rescue unfolded after a 61-year-old man became pinned face down by a roughly 700-pound boulder in an Alaska creek, officials said. The man's spouse held his head above water and firefighters mobilized to help him, the Seward Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post. The man was trapped May 24 in a boulder field in the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek in the Kenai Peninsula, officials said. Rescuers set up a command post at a quarry about 2 miles downstream and made their way with the help of ATVs through the 'extreme terrain,' officials said. Seward Helicopter Tours jumped to help and flew firefighters to the trapped man, 'cutting down 45 minutes of travel time,' according to officials. The helicopter couldn't land in the boulder field, so firefighters had to jump out while it hovered, officials said. The 61-year-old man 'was hypothermic and in and out of consciousness' when rescuers reached him, according to officials. They used 'air bags, ropes, and brute force to lift the boulder off' of him 'and pull him to safety,' officials said. Rescuers warmed him up, 'and he became more alert, and his vitals improved,' according to officials. The Alaska Air National Guard's 176th Wing hoisted him from the canyon, officials said. He was taken to a hospital and 'is expected to make a full recovery,' according to officials, who said he didn't appear to have life-threatening injuries. Facebook commenters had praise for the rescuers. 'Definitely amazing! Thankful for all of the well-trained responders!' one person wrote. The Kenai Peninsula is in south central Alaska.
Voice of America
07-02-2025
- Climate
- Voice of America
Authorities continue search for plane missing in Alaska
Rescuers in Alaska continued their search Friday for an airplane that went missing Thursday with nine passengers and a pilot onboard. Several groups were involved in the search, including the Alaska State Troopers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Air National Guard, the Alaska Army National Guard and local search teams. Authorities said a Jayhawk helicopter was brought in Friday morning to help with the search. The FBI was also providing technical assistance, including cellphone analysis, to help locate the aircraft. The Bering Air Caravan flight was traveling in western Alaska, just south of the Arctic Circle, from Unalakleet to Nome. State troopers said they were notified Thursday at 4 p.m. about the plane's disappearance. The Coast Guard said on X that the flight was 19 kilometers offshore when its position was lost. The families of the passengers have been notified, according to the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, but passengers' names have not been released. The fire department posted on X that it was conducting an active ground search, but weather and visibility conditions were hampering the department's air search. The department urged people not to form their own search parties because of hazardous weather conditions in the region, which is prone to sudden snow squalls and high winds. Airplanes are often the only method of transportation between rural Alaskan villages. Nome is well-known as the last stop in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The missing flight is the third major U.S. aviation incident in recent days. On January 29, a commercial airliner and an Army helicopter collided near Washington's Reagan National Airport. Two days later, a medical transportation plane crashed into a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, neighborhood shortly after takeoff, killing six people onboard and another person on the street. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
