Joint Medevac Off Oregon Coast Includes Coast Guard, Canadian Air Force - Video

Published 07/26/25 at 4:25 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Astoria, Oregon) – A combined effort of both Canadian and U.S. rescuers took place Thursday afternoon off the Oregon and Washington coast. (Photos and video US Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Air Force)

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) officials said a Canadian fisherman was safely medevaced from a vessel operating roughly 180 miles offshore from Astoria, Oregon, thanks to a coordinated international rescue effort between the USCG and the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The operation began shortly after 1 a.m., when watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Victoria, British Columbia, received a distress call from a commercial fishing vessel approximately 300 miles west of Astoria – on the north Oregon coast. The crew reported a medical emergency involving a Canadian national. The center promptly alerted the U.S. Coast Guard Northwest District Command Center in Seattle.

Following consultation with a duty flight surgeon, U.S. Coast Guard officials recommended an urgent medical evacuation and maintained ongoing contact with the vessel as it navigated closer to shore.

By early afternoon, conditions permitted deployment. A U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Astoria launched toward the vessel, joined overhead by a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft from 19 Wing Comox in British Columbia. The Kingfisher crew provided crucial support with real-time weather updates and communication relay.

Both aircraft arrived on scene around 2 p.m. The patient was hoisted aboard the Jayhawk and flown to Air Station Astoria, arriving at 4 p.m. Emergency medical services were waiting to transport him for further care.

Video provided by U.S. and Canadian officials shows sometimes intense moments as the patient is lifted into the helicopter via the rescue rig. At a little over two minutes, there is more video than usual for a sea rescue, involving many stages of the effort. At one point, Canadian airmen can be heard expressing their thankfulness that the USCG was there, while another clip shows a Coast Guard rescuer trailing along below the helicopter by cable. It would be an overwhelmingly white knuckle for most but you can hear colleagues over the radio calmly cheer him on.

Royal Canadian Air Force Capt. KP Brar praised the collaboration.

“When a Canadian mariner needs urgent help far from home, our U.S. Coast Guard partners answered the call,” said Capt. “With support from the 19th Wing, this mission shows how trusted allies work together to save lives. Our SAR professionals train side-by-side for missions like this.”

Cmdr. Chelsey Stroud, U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue mission coordinator, also gave the operation high makrs.

“This rescue highlights the interoperability and mutual support between Canada and the United States in maritime Search and Rescue operations,” said Cmdr. Stroud.

Earlier in July, the USCG had to rescue two teens and part of a rescue team in Lincoln City. Oregon's US Coast Guard Saves Two Teens and a Rescuer from Lincoln City Cliff - Sometimes even rescuers need rescuing

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