[chris]

A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew medically evacuated a 24-year-old crewmember from the 72-foot Canadian fishing vessel Freeport northwest of Graham Island, British Columbia, on Thursday.

Coast Guard 17th District Command Center personnel received the medevac request from Canadian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center personnel. The report said the crewmember was having medical complications and needed a higher level of care.

The helicopter arrived on scene at 7:58 p.m. The crew hoisted the patient from the vessel, which had numerous cables, rigging, swinging cranes, and other snag hazards, then flew him to Masset, British Columbia, where he was transferred to waiting EMS.

The Coast Guard said the hoist was challenging, and that it was the flight mechanic's first operational mission.