PMRF — A group of Navy pilots and air crewmen who were training at Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands responded to a call for help and rescued two women on Kaua‘i’s Kalalau Beach in Na Pali Coast State Park
PMRF — A group of Navy pilots and air crewmen who were training at Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands responded to a call for help and rescued two women on Kaua‘i’s Kalalau Beach in Na Pali Coast State Park on Thursday, states a release from Public Affairs Officer Tom Clements.
At approximately 10:15 a.m., a local tour helicopter reported seeing an “S.O.S.” written in the sand at Kalalau Beach. Naval aviators and other sailors from several commands were conducting advanced training operations at PMRF off the west coast of Kaua‘i when they were notified of the “S.O.S.” and were sent to investigate.
When naval aviators confirmed the “S.O.S.” and saw a mirror flash, an SH-60B “Seahawk” helicopter was immediately sent with two pilots and two air crewmen, including a search and rescue swimmer who helped rescue the victims.
One of the victims was reported as being very ill and having a serious injury. After rescue from the beach, the victim and her companion were transported to PMRF for emergency treatment and transport to Kaua‘i Veterans Memorial Hospital.
Sailors from Helicopter Maritime Strike Weapons School Pacific, of NAS North Island, Calif., and Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light Fifty-One, from Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, responded with the assistance of Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light Thirty-Seven, of Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i, at Kaneohe Bay, O‘ahu.
The pilots and air crewmen were undergoing advanced training at PMRF at the time of the call.
