Coast Guard Airlifts Stricken Diver

A Coast Guard rescue crew medevaced an injured diver after receiving a call at 9:09 a.m. from a crewmember on board the vessel Clearlight, near Wrangell. The Lady Becky, a nearby vessel, rendered Good Samaritan aid, and a Coast Guard helicopter launched from Sitka. The Coast Guard rescue crew took 33-year old Ketchikan resident Michael R. Anderson to Ketchikan, where an EMS crew awaited. Ketchikan hospital officials pronounced him deceased. Rescuers performed CPR on Anderson aboard the Clearlight and the helicopter en route Ketchikan. Anderson reportedly lacked oxygen for about 5-10 minutes on board the vessel. The Clearlight, a fishing vessel from Southeast Alaska, traveled near East Island, about 30 miles southwest of Wrangell, when the incident occurred. Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan officials are investigating the incident.