Coast Guard crew rescued from crash near Petersburg

The U.S. Coast Guard said two of four crew members injured in a helicopter crash near Petersburg during a search and rescue mission late at night Nov. 13 have been released from the hospital.

The other two members, who were seriously injured, remained hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle as of Nov. 15, but their condition had improved, said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Salerno, a public affairs officer for U.S. Coast Guard Alaska. The two were listed in fair condition, according to an update.

A fishing vessel reported the crash of the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Sitka around 11 p.m. Nov. 13, the Coast Guard said. The helicopter was responding to an initial call for help from the same fishing vessel, the commercial crab boat Lydia Marie, which was taking on water, the Coast Guard said.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash or what specifically the helicopter was doing when it crashed.

The helicopter crashed just ashore Read Island, 20 miles north of Petersburg, just off the mainland.

Winds were reported to be 28 to 34 mph and seas were about 4 to 5 feet during the beginning of the rescue, the Coast Guard said. Visibility was about one quarter of a mile when a second Coast Guard rescue helicopter responded to the area after the crash, they said.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Petersburg Fire and Rescue responded to the crash scene and provided immediate medical care, the Coast Guard said.

The helicopter was found mostly upside down with the side hatch accessible to responders. Its cabin was largely intact but partly crushed from the chopper's rotor head which had pushed into the space, according to Petersburg responders.

All four crew members were still inside the helicopter when rescuers arrived. The two crew members strapped in the pilot seats were pinned and the two rescue swimmers in the back were badly injured.

A second Coast Guard helicopter from Sitka arrived on the scene and took the four crew to Petersburg for medical care before they were medivaced to Seattle by a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules from Air Station Kodiak.

Four people were aboard the fishing vessel when they called for help around 8 p.m. Nov. 13 because the boat was flooding, the Coast Guard said. Two Coast Guard cutters responded to the vessel after the helicopter crash to render aid. The crew on one of the cutters oversaw the de-watering of the fishing vessel and escorted it back to Petersburg.

The Coast Guard said an investigation is ongoing into the cause of the helicopter crash.

Olivia Rose of the Petersburg Pilot contributed reporting for this story.