Hultman Kiokun 01-30-10

Mekoryuk man dies in snowmachine crash

By JAMES HALPIN, jhalpin@adn.com, Published: February 1st, 2010

A Mekoryuk man who fell 50 feet off a cliff in a snowmachine wreck has died from his injuries, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Hultman Kiokun, 63, was killed in the fall after trying to navigate home in near white-out conditions Saturday evening, troopers said.

Investigators say Kiokun had been out collecting wood with his son, Edward Kiokun, 26, when weather conditions deteriorated. The men were on separate snowmachines with sleds and tried to find their way home in the blowing snow using a global positioning device, troopers said.

Both men fell off the cliff and onto the ice coating the Mekoryuk River. Hultman Kiokun's snowmachine and sled landed on top of him, troopers said. He died at the scene.

Troopers said Edward Kiokun called for help on a VHF radio about 6:45 p.m. and Mekoryuk Search and Rescue headed to the scene.

Edward Kiokun sustained minor injuries in the wreck and was treated at the town clinic, troopers said.

Alcohol was not a factor, they said.

Mekoryuk, on the north shore of Nunivak Island, is at the mouth of Shoal Bay, 149 miles west of Bethel.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.