A Coast Guard Station Juneau 45-foot Response Boat-Medium patrols Auke Bay during an exercise in 2018. A response boat similar to the one in the photo was used to rescue two hunters on Admiralty Island on Thursday. (Lt. Brian Dykens / U.S. Coast Guard)

A Coast Guard Station Juneau 45-foot Response Boat-Medium patrols Auke Bay during an exercise in 2018. A response boat similar to the one in the photo was used to rescue two hunters on Admiralty Island on Thursday. (Lt. Brian Dykens / U.S. Coast Guard)

Coast Guard rescues 2 near Juneau on Christmas Eve

“Fortunately the hunters were prepared for the weather and low visibility.”

Two hunters were rescued on Christmas Eve from an aground vessel on Admiralty Island, the United States Coast Guard announced.

Watchstanders in the Sector Juneau command center received notification from the father of one of the hunters around 3 p.m., the Coast Guard said in a news release. The hunter’s father advised that a 24-foot aluminum vessel was aground, and he had lost contact with the two men aboard.

On-scene weather at the time of the grounding included an air temperature of 35 degrees, 5-mph winds and 300-yard visibility, according to the Coast Guard.

“Fortunately the hunters were prepared for the weather and low visibility,” said Scott Cichoracki Sector Juneau command center watchstander in the news release. “We were able to quickly locate the hunters and get a boat crew on scene to assist them”

A Coast Guard Station Juneau 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew picked up the hunters from the shoreline, according to the Coast Guard. The men were transported to the North Douglas Launch Ramp.

• Contact Ben Hohenstatt at (907)308-4895 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.

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