Coast Guard and Navy helicopter crews hoist man with broken ankle

WARRENTON, Ore. — The Coast Guard rescued an injured hiker on the south slope of the Olympic Mountain in Washington, Monday.

The hiker, who reportedly suffered a broken ankle, was transported to by a Coast Guard Air Station Astoria MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to the Olympia airport where he was met by emergency medical services for further medical care.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received the request for support from the Coast Guard 13th District Command Center via the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center stating that a Navy medical ground crew, which had made it to the hiker the afternoon before, was requesting an expedited medevac due to shortage of pain medications.

Sunday afternoon a Navy helicopter crew, from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, transported medical response personnel to the hiker, but due to fuel limitations and crew fatigue, the helicopter crew was forced to leave two Navy corpsmen overnight with the patient.

At 8 a.m., Monday, the Coast Guard helicopter crew arrived on scene, but due to deteriorating weather and tree line obstacles, the helicopter refueled and returned to reevaluate the situation. At 10 a.m., the helicopter crew successfully hoisted the injured hiker without further complications.

“This case illustrates the importance of our partnerships with the Navy, Air Force and other first responders,” said Greg Merten, a search and rescue controller at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River. “With their support, we were able to successfully hoist this man from the mountain and get him to the help he needed.”

Weather on scene at the time of the rescue was reported as five to 10 mph winds, overcast skies and less than one mile of visibility.

– U.S. Coast Guard