After being stuck at a fish camp near Emmonak for one week, seven hunters from Pilot Station were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on Nov. 5. The hunters got iced in while headed upriver after a seal hunt.
According to a spokesperson for the Coast Guard, when the helicopter rescued the group from the fish camp, they immediately transported them to the airport in Nome.
According to a spokesperson for the Alaska State Troopers, the group was then met at the airport by medical personnel who checked the hunters for injuries. Later, a trooper brought them to a hotel. A representative from Pilot Station Search and Rescue said that the group initially believed they would be paying for their hotel and travel home out-of-pocket. Later, the Alaska State Troopers told KYUK they that they would be covering the cost of lodging for the group, and the cost of airfare to get the hunters back home to Pilot Station. They didn’t know when that would be.