One Dead, Two Injured on Log Carrier in North Pacific

Coast Guard rescue crews today are en route to Adak to medevac two crewmen who were injured while working aboard a log carrier 180 miles south of Adak Monday. The master of the 465-foot log carrier Borca contacted the Coast Guard requesting medical assistance. The master reported that while transiting the ship encountered rough weather. Three crewmen who were working below decks were tossed about and suffered severe injuries. The reported injuries included broken bones and possible head trauma. One of three injured crewmen died. A Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted and recommended the two injured men be medevaced. The Coast Guard instructed the Borca’s master to change course and head toward Adak. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew departed Kodiak at about 3:30 a.m. A Coast Guard C-130 and crew with an additional helicopter crew departed at about 4 a.m. To complete the 910-mile journey, the helicopter crew refueled in Cold Bay and Dutch Harbor. From Dutch Harbor the crew will fly the remaining 380 miles to rendezvous with the Borca. The rescue crews expect to be on scene with the Borca at about 1:30 p.m. Adak time. The two men will be hoisted from the motor vessel and flown to Adak. The current on scene weather is reported to include 12- to 14-foot seas and winds in excess of 30 mph. A commercial life flight plane will then further transport the men to Anchorage for medical care. The Borca is home-ported in China. The deceased crewman will remain aboard the Borca for the remainder of the vessel’s transit home.