Coast Guard rescues hunters near Round Island

ANCHORAGE (AP) -- Coast Guard rescuers battled high winds in a harrowing effort to pluck two hunters from a sandbar early Thursday morning.

Guardsmen in Kodiak got the radio distress call around 8:25 p.m. Wednesday, according to the agency. Ben Tinka, aboard the fishing vessel Sea Falcon, said two hunters from his boat swam to shore after their skiff capsized near Round Island.

Richard Clark, 52, and William Kopo, 42, built a warming fire but needed medical help.

A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew arrived at midnight. Clark and Kopo were stranded on a narrow band of beach between the surf and 300-foot cliffs. There were low visibility and severe turbulence.

Pilot Lt. Cmdr. Russell Zullick and his crew hoisted the men at an angle and flew them to Dillingham for medical treatment. The hunters are recovering from minor injuries and hypothermia.