Nevada man dies when commercial canoe flips in Alaska river

A Coast Guard Jayhawk rescue helicopter from Air Station Sitka participates in a training exercise. (Photo courtesy Petty Officer 3rd Class Wes Shinn/U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard carried out a rescue on the Chilkat Inlet near Haines today after a canoe carrying 11 people capsized at Glacier Point, nine miles south of the Haines townsite.

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The canoe was being used for a guided tour for passengers from three different cruise ships, Coast Guard spokeswoman Meredith Manning said.

A Jayhawk helicopter from Sitka responded.

One of the passengers was unresponsive at the scene. First responders performed CPR, but the passenger remained unconscious.

The Coast Guard transported the passenger to Juneau by helicopter.

The Associated Press reported that Steven Tod Willis, 50, of North Las Vegas, Nevada, died.

The remaining 10 passengers were transferred to a small boat operated by the company in charge of the guided canoe tour.

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