BETHEL – A search on Sunday for a small boat that ran out of gas in Kuskokwim Bay involved a Coast Guard plane and helicopter, and troopers sent up an aircraft as well. In the end, everyone was safe.
Carl Green, 44, of Eek messaged a family member Sunday morning that he had run out of gas between the Western Alaska villages of Eek and Quinhagak, Alaska State Troopers reported Monday.
Then he lost communication, according to the Coast Guard.
Six people were on board. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane from Kodiak spotted the 22-foot aluminum boat Sunday afternoon adrift in the bay. The crew relayed the boat's position to a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and nearby vessels, according to the Coast Guard.
Three good Samaritan vessels provided fuel and escorted the boat to a nearby village, the Coast Guard said.
The boat was not equipped with a VHF radio, but everyone had a life jacket.
Alaska Dispatch Publishing