Helicopter rescues 3 boaters stranded in southwest Alaska

MANOKOTAK — Three rural residents stranded after their boat ran aground were rescued Wednesday by chartered helicopter.

Alaska State Troopers said 27-year-old Jeremiah Chukwuk, 26-year-old Alice Moxie and 27-year-old Daniel Tugutuk Jr., all of Manokotak, ran aground as they returned from a trip to Dillingham.

Troopers received a call that the party was overdue and a Bristol Bay Air Taxi pilot reported seeing a skiff abandoned across the Snake River from the village of Ekuk.

Ekuk is on Nushagak Bay about 17 miles south of Dillingham.

The pilot saw footprints in mud leading to shore in an area accessible only by helicopter.

The hired helicopter found the three dehydrated, disoriented and suffering from exposure. They were flown to Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham for treatment.

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