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Coast Guard rescues 4 from vessel trapped on ice in Alaska

Published  April 16, 2026 1:33pm PDT
Alaska
FOX 13 Seattle

The Brief

    • A Coast Guard aircrew rescued three adults and a child Sunday after shifting ice trapped their vessel during a subsistence hunting trip near Alaska. 
    • Despite hazardous weather and near-zero visibility, responders located the group and safely returned them to their village with no reported injuries.

KODIAK, Alaska - A Coast Guard aircrew rescued three adults and a child Sunday morning after their boat became trapped in an ice floe during a subsistence seal hunting trip in Alaska.

What we know:

The U.S. Coast Guard 17th District received a report from Alaska State Troopers around 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The group had been stranded for more than 24 hours before the call for help about 10 miles west of Chefornak. 

The group managed to free their vessel overnight and tried to reach a group from the village waiting onshore with snow machines but shifting ice blocked their path.

In response, the Coast Guard deployed an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak. By Sunday morning, all four people were hoisted into the helicopter and returned to the village. No injuries were reported.

Lt. Cmdr. Alexis Chavarria-Aguilar, the helicopter’s pilot-in-command, described the mission as one of the most difficult the crew had ever faced.

"We battled nearly every Alaska-centric aviation weather hazard imaginable, such as flying over 800 miles in near-zero visibility through mountainous terrain, blowing snow and icing conditions," Chavarria-Aguilar said. "It was a long, difficult night, but I’m so proud of everyone involved."

Coast Guard officials noted that the group had three forms of communication, including satellite devices. Having multiple ways to signal for help greatly assisted crews in locating the vessel amidst the ice.

The Source: Information in this story came from the United States Coast Guard. 

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