After a 50-year-old man fell off a Sitka cliff Saturday, authorities were able to get to him and fly him to safety.
At about 2 p.m. Saturday, the Sitka Fire Department called the U.S. Coast Guard asking for helicopter support for a man who fell about 100 feet while hiking the Sister Mountains in Sitka, according to a Coast Guard release. The man was reported to have a head injury and possibly a back injury from the fall.
An Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, along with Alaska State Troopers and Sitka Mountain Rescue, got the man out of the rugged area and took him to get treatment in Sitka, according to the release. He was in stable condition, but had sustained head injuries, the release states.
“This was definitely a challenging mountain rescue based on the deteriorating weather, altitude and rugged terrain,” Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Jacobs, a pilot on the case, said in the release. “It highlights the interagency cooperation, advanced training and unique mission sets that Coast Guard units execute daily in Southeast Alaska.”
A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew transfers an injured hiker to emergency medical services for further care in Sitka, Alaska, June 15, 2019. The man was reported to have fallen 100 feet while hiking in the Sisters Mountains in Sitka with two other people and he required rescue. (Courtesy photo | U.S. Coast Guard)
Sitka Mountain Rescue personnel escorted two other hikers in the party off the mountain after the man was safely hoisted. The rescue happened at 2,000 feet in elevation with 3-mph winds, 4 miles visibility with patchy fog, light rain and an air temperature of 52 degrees.
