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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 7:56 p.m., Saturday, September 27, 2008

Crewman dies after being rescued from container ship off Saipan

Advertiser Staff

One of two men taken from an ocean-going bulk carrier north of Saipan has died from injuries suffered in an accident aboard the ship, authorities said.

The men were removed from the Panamanian-flagged container ship Occam's Razor after it e-mailed the U.S. Coast Guard in Hagatna for help Friday. The container ship at that time was 750 miles north of Saipan in favorable weather conditions.

One crew member suffered severe head trauma, while the other complained of severe pain in his kidneys, said a news release from U.S. Special Operations Command, Pacific.

One of the injured sailors later was pronounced dead at Navy Hospital Guam, said Col. John Glaze, commander of the 353rd Special Operations Group.

The second sailor was receiving treatment at Guam Memorial Hospital and was expected to fully recover.

The 36-hour mission to rescue the men was coordinated by a command center in Hagatna. According to the U.S. Special Operations Command, Pacific at Camp Smith, members of U.S. Special Operations and Pacific Air Forces also participated in the rescue mission.

The ship's master reported that two crew members were in critical condition after an accident occurred when cargo shifted unexpectedly.

A U.S. Air Force long-range aircraft from Kadena Air Force Base in Japan launched six pararescue jumpers — or "PJs" — to the deck of the container ship for medical assistance at 2:30 a.m. (Guam Standard Time) today.

PJs are elite special operations command personnel with advanced medical training.

Coast Guard search-and-rescue controllers in Guam directed the container ship to a position approximately 150 miles from Saipan and early Sunday (Guam time) both crew members were successfully airlifted by Navy helicopter to Guam for medical treatment.

Two U.S. Navy search and rescue helicopter crews from Guam's Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Two Five (HSC-25) flew out to the vessel at the offshore rendezvous point and picked up the injured crew members and PJs.

One man went into cardiac arrest and the PJs performed CPR for 70 minutes to save his life. That crew member was transferred to Naval Hospital Guam at 8 a.m. today (Guam time) and the second was delivered approximately 45 minutes later.