Medivac Chopper Missing Near Cordova Alaska

cordova-alaska-chopper-down.jpgA medivac chopper went missing traveling from Cordova to Anchorage overnight, high winds and low clouds are hampering the search efforts. It went down in an area of jagged inlets where the roots of the mountains are planted in the sea. Wish the searchers well, but this time of year the outlook for a successful rescue is pretty grim.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Volunteers joined a Coast Guard search Tuesday for a medical helicopter that vanished in snow and heavy wind while carrying a patient and medical crew over mountainous coastal terrain. A Coast Guard cutter was searching for the LifeGuard Alaska helicopter, listening for signals from the helicopter’s emergency beacon near its last known position over the southeast side of Esther Island in Prince William Sound, about 75 miles southeast of Anchorage. Volunteers directed by Alaska State Troopers joined the search in three fishing boats.

The helicopter was heading about 150 miles from Cordova to the Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage when it disappeared early Monday evening, authorities said. The helicopter crew had made a satellite phone call at 5:18 p.m., but it was not a distress call, Coast Guard Lt. John McWhite said.