A passenger on Mendenhall River rafting adventure had to be rescued Monday afternoon from Elephant Rock in the upper portion of the river.
Capital City Fire and Rescue Division Chief Brian Long said the woman rolled out of the raft when it made contact with the rock. But the woman was stranded when raft kept going downstream.
Long says they sent a boat up to the rock and picked up the adult woman who was reported was healthy and dry. She was reunited with her family so they could return to their cruise ship.
Long says fourteen personnel turned out for the call with the jet boat, a smaller boat, command vehicle, engines and ambulances part of the overall response.
North Pacific medivac
The Coast Guard trying to medivac a crewman who was hurt on a freighter a few days ago.
The 37-year old Philippine national apparently fell about 10-feet onto steel grating and hurt his head and back while on board the 900-foot bulk carrier Santa Rufina. The vesse was heading from Korea to Panama in the North Pacific.
Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Janelle Webster says an H-65 helicopter stationed in Cold Bay will try to hoist the crewman aboard as the freighter maneuvers closer to Dutch Harbor early Tuesday. The crewman will then be taken to a local clinic for evaluation and potential treatment.
Copper River rescue
Six people were rescued Monday from the Copper River delta as a rescue boat itself ran into trouble.
Webster says a hovercraft went up the river to pick up five stranded kayakers. But — on the way back down — one of the props or fans malfunctioned and the craft was in danger of becoming swamped. It’s unclear if the malfunctioning prop or fan provided the air cushion or propulsion for the vehicle.
An H-60 helicopter hoisted up the kayakers and hovercraft’s operator two at a time and dropped them off in a nearby clearing where they could be picked up by a vehicle.
No injuries were initially reported.
The hovercraft, left about four miles up the river, is expected to be eventually retrieved by its operator.
