SITKA -- The Coast Guard said a rescue helicopter rushed to help a stricken sailor off Sitka, but a flight surgeon who had been lowered into his boat was unable to revive him.

The Guard said 72-year-old Sitka resident Ralph Guthrie and his wife were seal hunting Saturday when he collapsed aboard his 40-foot skiff.

His wife made an emergency call, and the Coast Guard quickly launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew that included the surgeon and a rescue swimmer.

After the two were lowered into the craft, the swimmer moved the skiff to a nearby beach and both crew members worked to revive him. But the Guard said that Guthrie died despite their efforts.