The Coast Guard medevaced an injured fisherman Tuesday from a 63-foot commercial fishing boat operating about 150 miles offshore from Yaquina Bay, Oregon.
The call for help came in Tuesday at about 1:30 p.m. from a satellite phone aboard the 63-foot commercial fishing boat Piky.
The crew member reported that Nathanial Miller, 24, who was working aboard Piky, suffered a serious eye injury and vision loss after a line slipped while he was reeling in a tuna, and a swivel tackle hit him in the eye.
The Piky’s captain transitted toward shore to close the distance and shorten response time for the medevac.
A helicopter crew from Columbia River, and an HC-27J Spartan medium-range surveillance, search and rescue aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, California, deployed to assist the injured fisherman.
Once on scene, the Jayhawk aircrew hoisted the man, while the Spartan aircrew provided air cover, and communication and logistic support. The Jayhawk aircrew flew Miller to Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland and transferred his care to medical professionals shortly after 6 p.m.
by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading