Port Angeles Coast Guard crew helps injured man on Canadian naval vessel

Published 1:30 am Sunday, November 17, 2019

SEATTLE — Coast Guard crews hoisted an injured man from a Canadian naval vessel traveling through the northern section of Admiralty Inlet.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound command center in Seattle were notified at 10:30 a.m. Friday that a person aboard the 181-foot Royal Canadian Navy Ship HMCS Nanaimo had sustained a head injury after a fall, according to a Coast Guard press release.

The crew of the Nanaimo reported that the man had a laceration on his head and showed signs of a concussion.

The command center diverted a Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew conducting training exercises nearby the location of the Nanaimo.

The crew arrived on scene at 12:01 p.m. and deployed their rescue swimmer onto the forward deck of the vessel.

The aircrew, with the help of the Canadian crew members, put the injured man into a basket and hoisted him into the helicopter.

The helicopter transported the injured man to Harbor View Medical Hospital at 12:19 p.m., where he was then transferred by ambulance to Virginia Mason Hospital.

The patient’s medical condition was not known.

The Nanaimo continued its transit without further incident.