The Alaska Air National Guard this week traveled nearly 660 miles to rescue a pregnant woman on a small island 2 miles from Russia
FILE - The American island of Little Diomede, Alaska, left, and on the right, the Russian island of Big Diomede, are seen from the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica in the Bering Strait, on July 14, 2017.
“It’s very different here in Alaska because we don’t have the infrastructure that they have down in the lower 48,” said Alaska National Guard spokesperson Alan Brown. “You’re looking at the civilian agencies have a more robust capability; there are more of them.” The rescue call came Monday morning, said Warren. They were informed of a pregnant woman with severe abdominal pains in Diomede, a village of 80 people on the western side of Little Diomede Island. It’s a traditional Ingalikmiut Eskimo village, whose residents live a subsistence lifestyle, hunting seal, polar bears and blue crab. There are no medical professionals living on the island., which is owned by Russia, by 2 miles of frozen Bering Sea ice this time of the year.
Such a complex mission is second hand to the Alaska Air National Guard as compared to other states, where guard crews might be involved in search and rescue missions. This incident involved the Alaska Air National Guardsmen of 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons.
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660-mile rescue flight highlights Alaska's unique challengesThe Alaska Air National Guard this week traveled nearly 660 miles to rescue a pregnant woman on a small island 2 miles from Russia. The trip reflects the challenges patients face in the nation's largest state, where there may be no roads and hospitals can be hundreds of miles away. A search and rescue helicopter from near Anchorage flew 5 hours to the tiny Bering Strait island. A cargo plane guided the helicopter through mountain passes and refueled it in the air several times. These types of extreme rescues by both the guard and other agencies are common in the state. This was the 14th such air rescue in Alaska this year.
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