A 35-year-old woman has died and a man was rescued following a boating accident near Sitka, Alaska, that involved an overturned kayak and a capsized skiff.
The incident occurred around 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 20, in Redoubt Bay. According to local station KCAW, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Air Station Sitka received an alert about the two vessels — each carrying one person — both found overturned in the water.
A coordinated emergency response was launched involving a Coast Guard helicopter crew, a rescue boat from the Sitka Fire Department, and nearby boaters who heard the distress call over the radio.
The man, who had been aboard a Boston Whaler skiff, was pulled from the water by a Good Samaritan and brought to shore where emergency crews were standing by, U.S. Coast Guard public affairs officer John Hightower told KCAW.
Another nearby resident located the woman, who was found unresponsive in the water. She was transferred to the fire department’s vessel where a Coast Guard rescue swimmer was lowered from the helicopter to assist with emergency treatment during the trip back to shore.
Despite medical efforts, the woman was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital, Hightower said.
The identities of those involved have not yet been released. The Sitka Fire Department, U.S. Coast Guard, and Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office have not issued official statements. The cause of the accident remains under investigation, according to the Daily Sitka Sentinel.
