U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crashes near Sitka in Alaska, 4 rescued

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter has crashed during a training flight near Sitka, Alaska, injuring the four crew members, according to local and federal officials. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

The accident happened just after 10 a.m. on Monday when the aircraft, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, went down near Harbor Mountain, north of Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport on Baranof Island.

The U.S. Coast Guard said rescue crews from Sitka Fire and Rescue arrived on scene at approximately 11 a.m., after which all 4 crew members were taken to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center. Their conditions were not immediately known but no deaths were reported, the agency said.

The cause of Monday’s accident was not immediately known. The U.S. Coast Guard said a formal investigation will be conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Sitka is about 90 miles southwest of Juneau, the state capital, or 587 miles southeast of Anchorage.