Coast Guard medevacs man from fishing vessel near Chinook Harbor, Aug. 6

SEATTLE — Coast Guard crews hoisted an injured man from a sporWt fishing vessel that ran aground near Chinook Harbor, Washington, Monday morning, Aug. 5. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River command center in Astoria, Oregon, were notified at 10:40 a.m., that an individual aboard a 20-foot boat had suffered a head injury after the vessel he was in ran aground. The command center launched a 29-foot Response Boat –Small crew from Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment as well as an aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. Both units arrived on scene at approximately 11 a.m. The MH-60 Jayhawk crew deployed their rescue swimmer into the water near the grounded vessel. A crewmember from the Cape Disappointment rescue boat was also able to board the boat to render assistance. The Coast Guard members, with the help of the other four persons on the grounded vessel, put the injured man on a litter and hoisted him into the helicopter. The aircraft transported the injured man to Air Station Astoria, where he was transferred to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at noon. EMS then transported the patient to Columbia Memorial Hospital. The patient’s medical condition was reported as stable. The Station Cape Disappointment boatcrew towed the 20-foot pleasure craft into Chinook Harbor after it was freed from the sand bar. The Coast Guard reminds boaters to be aware of the dangers presented by shifting unmarked sand bars during low tides and to always operate at a slower safe speed when in these waters.