Alaska Army Guardsmen Save Two Hunters after Falling Through Yukon River Ice

Seen through night vision goggles, Alaska Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk crew chief, Spc. Jeff Hartmann approaches a hunting party gathered by their campfire on a small island sandbar on the Yukon River in Alaska, May 1, 2019. Two of the hunters broke through the ice at about 2 a.m. while traveling over the river on snowmachines, and lost their transportation and all of their gear. They were stranded, wet and cold as they awaited rescue. Soldiers with the Alaska Army National Guard's 207th Aviation transported the two hunters via Black Hawk helicopter to Mountain Village, a coastal community in western Alaska that sits along the Yukon River. Alaska State Troopers contacted the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center to request a search and rescue mission out of Bethel, where an Alaska Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk and aircrew are stationed full-time.