Coast Guard Heroes Execute Dramatic Water Tank Rescue in Washington State
The emergency operation unfolded on May 13, 2025, when workers installing a roof on a massive steel tank plummeted 60 feet after a catastrophic structural failure. The high-stakes scenario became critical with two workers sustaining severe injuries and one trapped in rapidly solidifying concrete.
Coast Guard rescue swimmers Chief Benjamin Brown and Aviation Survival Technician Jon Claridge spearheaded the three-hour rescue operation, descending into the hazardous confined space of the damaged tank. Emergency responders confronted multiple obstacles, including limited visibility, dangerous construction debris, the tank’s jagged rebar edge, and the time-sensitive challenge of extracting a worker from hardening concrete.
The Coast Guard Air Station Astoria MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, including pilots Lt. Michael Travers and Lt. Michael Buhl and flight mechanic Logan Harris, demonstrated exceptional precision throughout the rescue. Harris executed multiple hoists from an unusually high altitude of 120 feet above the tank. The pilots maintained a steady position overhead to ensure uninterrupted communication with Brown and Claridge below, while coordinating with emergency services for swift medical transport of the injured workers.
Title image: Coast Guard Air Station Astoria members prep an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter for an overflight mission to the Russian River, California, on January 11, 2023. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Taylor Bacon)
Disclosure: AI was used to consolidate rescue information for the text of this article.