35-Year-Old Woman Dies After Accident That Left Kayak Overturned and Boat Capsized

A woman is dead and a man has been rescued after a boating accident involving a kayak and skiff near Sitka, Alaska.

On Sunday, July 20, at around 5 p.m. local time, Air Station Sitka, a U.S. Coast Guard station in Sitka, learned of a capsized skiff and a kayak that had turned over in the area of Redoubt Bay, local radio station KCAW reported. Each vessel had one person on board.

The emergency response team included a helicopter crew from the Coast Guard, a boat from the Sitka Fire Department and locals on boats, who heard the call on the radio, according to the outlet.

The man, who was on board the Boston Whaler skiff, was rescued by a citizen on a nearby vessel, who took him to emergency responders waiting on the shoreline, John Hightower, a public affairs officer from the Coast Guard, told KCAW.

Another concerned local saved the 35-year-old unresponsive woman from the bay. She was then put on the fire department’s vessel and a Coast Guard swimmer was lowered to the boat to assist with treatment, the outlet reported.

The woman was given medical assistance during the journey back to shore and transported immediately to a local hospital. Once there, she was pronounced dead, Hightower told KCAW.