MEDIA RELEASE:
Two Floatplanes Crash
Date: May 13, 2019
Contact: Deanna Thomas, Incident PIO, (907) 617-5336
For Immediate Release:
Search and rescue crews continue to search at this hour for three individuals involved in two floatplane crashes this afternoon south of Ketchikan.
Two floatplanes crashed at approximately the same time in George Inlet today within a mile and a half of one another. An Otter floatplane with 11 individuals crashed in the Coon Cove area. A Beaver floatplane with five individuals crashed in the Mahoney Creek area of George Inlet. A total of 16 individuals were involved.
Three deceased individuals have been recovered. Ten patients have been transported to PeaceHealth Medical Center with severe to life-threatening injuries. Rescue crews and good Samaritans continue to search for the remaining three passengers.
The names of the passengers and companies involved are not being released at this time. The circumstances of the crash are not available.
At 12:47 p.m. today, the South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a reported boat crash in George Inlet. Rescuers did not discover there were two planes down until approximately 20 minutes into the incident.
The U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, U.S. Forest Service, Alaska State Troopers, Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad, and Temsco are searching the area. The Ketchikan Fire Department and North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department are also assisting with the care and transport of patients. Allen Marine Tours, which was conducting a tour in the area, assisted with the transport of a number of patients waiting ambulances.
George Inlet Lodge also played a pivotal role in the rescue effort, serving as the base of operations for search and rescue.
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