A 61-year-old man was rescued Saturday by Seward Fire Department, Seward Helicopter Tours and the Alaska Air National Guard after being trapped under a boulder in a creek near Seward.
According to a press release from Seward Fire Department, they were called around noon on Saturday to headwaters of Fourth of July Creek, which is located on the opposite side of Resurrection Bay from Seward. They responded with Bear Creek Volunteer Fire Department, using ATVs to reach the man 2 miles from a command post established at the quarry used by Seward Marine Industrial Center.
The release says that one of Bear Creek’s volunteer firefighters works for Seward Helicopter Tours. He heard the call and responded with another pilot from the company to transport six firefighters to the trapped man, “cutting down 45 minutes of travel time.” Because the man was in a field of boulders, the helicopter couldn’t safely land, and the helicopters had to jump to the ground.
The man was found lying in the creek, on his stomach, with a 700-pound boulder on top of him. He was hypothermic, moving in and out of consciousness, and his spouse was holding his head out of the water. Crews were able to remove the boulder and warm the man but could not safely transport him back down the canyon.
Through the Alaska State Troopers, a team of Alaska Air National Guard pararescue jumpers were dispatched. They were able to lift the man from the canyon and get him to a waiting ambulance. He was treated at Seward Providence Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
“It is no doubt that without the help from Seward Helicopter tours this incident could have had a much different and potentially fatal outcome,” the release reads. It also credits the two pilots, responders from Seward and Bear Creek, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center and the Alaska Air National Guard.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
