ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Coast Guard says a rescue helicopter rushed to help a stricken sailor on a boat off Sitka, but a flight surgeon who had been lowered into the craft was unable to revive the man.
The guard says Sitka resident Ralph Guthrie and his wife were seal hunting Saturday when he collapsed aboard his 40-foot skiff.
His wife made an emergency call and the Coast quickly launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, including the surgeon and a rescue swimmer.
After the two were lowered into the craft, the swimmer moved the skiff to a nearby beach and both crew members worked to revive him. But the guard says that Guthrie died despite their efforts.
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