Alaska fisherman transported over 1,200 miles, after being hit in the head with a crab pot

Rescue crews flew out to a commercial fishing boat near Dutch Harbor, after receiving reports of a fisherman who had been seriously injured by an errant crab pot, which struck him in the head.

According to a report from the U.S. Coast Guard, the fishing boat Patricia Lee located 190 miles west of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, requested help early Tuesday.

On board, a 27-year-old fisherman had been reportedly hit in the head by a crab pot, sustaining injuries serious enough for the Coast Guard flight surgeon to recommend a medevac.

In response, two Air Station Kodiak MH-60 aircrews, including two Jayhawk crews, traveled from Kodiak to Cold Bay, then to the Patricia Lee to medevac the injured man. One helicopter stopped in Cold Bay to serve as the communications platform for the other Jayhawk.

In total, the Coast Guard says the rescuers traveled over 1,200 miles from Kodiak, spending over 17 hours to conduct the medevac mission.

“Alaska presents a unique set of difficulties, one primarily being the remote locations of the cases,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Trevor Frommherz.

“It makes conducting medevacs hundreds of miles off shore a coordinated team effort, and we are fortunate to have such dynamic crews ready to work together and assist at a moment’s notice,” Frommherz said.