A Coast Guard rescue helicopter crashed on Harbor Mountain above Sitka

A U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter crashed Monday morning on Harbor Mountain above Sitka, drawing local fire crews and the Coast Guard and closing the public access road to the area.

It started as a 911 hang-up. Sitka Dispatch got the call around 10:10 a.m., and when a dispatcher rang back, learned an aircraft was down. Fire Chief Brian McLaughlin was on scene by 10:35 with an ambulance and five firefighters. Harbor Mountain Road, a steep gravel route at the edge of town, is shut to vehicles and pedestrians, and the City and Borough of Sitka is asking people to stay away until further notice.

The aircraft was one of the Coast Guard's MH-60 Jayhawks, the workhorse helicopters its Sitka air station and others across Alaska fly out to maritime emergencies, medevacs, and rescues. This time the rescuers were the ones in trouble. The Coast Guard, now the lead agency, called the safety and rescue of its crew its "absolute, immediate priority," and said the cause is unknown and under investigation. It had not released how many people were aboard or their condition.

It is not the first. In November 2023, a Jayhawk from the same Sitka station went down on Read Island during a search-and-rescue mission with four aboard. All four survived and were hospitalized.

This story is developing. The Coast Guard is the source for updates, at [email protected].