Air search personnel dropped flares in bad weather to find six stranded snowmachiners in Alaska, USA.
Alaska Air National Guardsmen of the 176th Wing rescued the snowmachiners at College Glacier, north of Paxson.
Alaska State Troopers requested assistance after the snowmachiners sent an SOS satellite-communication message saying they were out of fuel, inadequately dressed for the weather and that one of them was going into hypothermic shock.
The 176th Wing launched a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter. They also launched a 211th Rescue Squadron HC-130J Combat King plane with 212th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen onboard.
The HC-130 crew dropped a flare to illuminate the snowmachiners’ location and the HH-60 crew located the party.
Pararescuemen asked five of the group to move to a clearing at a safe distance so the crew could hoist one snowmachiner with cold weather injuries. The Pave Hawk then landed and loaded the remaining five.
The injured snowmachiner was flown to the Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. The others were taken to the Richardson Highway near Richardson Monument.
The HC-130 air-to-air refuelled the HH-60 during the mission to extend the helicopter’s range.
The image is a stock picture of the Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, assigned to the 210th Rescue Squadron. It is taken by Alejandro Pena.
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