Three adults and three children are safe after their boat began taking on water near Long Island in Sitka Sound, according to a Coast Guard news release, thanks to a response from the Coast Guard, Sitka Fire Rescue and four good Samaritan crews.
A 27-foot cabin cruiser began taking on water Tuesday night, according to the release, and Coast Guard Sector Juneau dispatched a Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to help. When the Jayhawk crew arrived on the scene, according to the release, they found other boaters already coming to the scene to help
The Jayhawk crew lowered two pumps to the good Samaritan vessels to help pump water out of the sinking boat. The children were put into life rafts, wearing life jackets, and were quickly picked up by the crew of the Poseidon, a good Samaritan boat, according to the release. The children were then taken to Sitka.
Two other good Samaritan vessels, the Stingray and the Garnett, worked together to tow the vessel to Sitka, according to the release, as the Stingray placed the boat in tow and then transferred it to the Garnett.
“This is a great example of an exceptional response by the local community,” Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Plunkett, Jayhawk pilot, said in the release. “Without their assistance and rapid response by a number of vessels, these boaters would likely have wound up in the water.”
