SEATTLE — Four people died Sunday off the coast of Alaska when a commercial fishing boat carrying 47 people began sinking west of the remote port town of Dutch Harbor, officials with the Coast Guard said.
Forty-two people were rescued by the Coast Guard about 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor, in the Aleutian Islands. One person remained missing on Sunday afternoon, and a search was being conducted with helicopters and a C-130 plane, officials said. One of the four died in the rescue operation, they said. The authorities on Sunday had not released the names of the four people who died or the missing person.
The ship later sank, The Associated Press reported Sunday night.
The crew of the boat, the 184-foot Alaska Ranger, contacted the Coast Guard at 2:50 a.m. Sunday to report that it was taking on water. The entire 47-member crew is believed to have put on rescue suits and abandoned the ship for lifeboats, said Petty Officer Third Class Levi Read of the Coast Guard office in Juneau.
The Coast Guard said a rescue helicopter from St. Paul, Alaska, a C-130 from Kodiak, Alaska, and the Coast Guard Cutter Munro were involved in the rescue mission. A sister ship of the Alaska Ranger, the Alaska Warrior, also helped in the rescue.
It was not immediately clear why the Alaska Ranger began to sink, the Coast Guard said.
“It’s been reported that they were having rudder trouble before they called for help, then they called to say they were taking on water,” Petty Officer Read said. “It has not been reported where the water was coming from.” He said the case would be investigated.
Dutch Harbor is one of the largest fisheries ports in the United States. Until recently, it was the No. 1 fishing port in terms of tonnage and value of catch.
The Ranger is owned by the Fishing Company of Alaska, which is based in Seattle. A person who answered the phone at the company’s offices on Sunday afternoon said the company was not yet prepared to comment.
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Forty-two people were rescued by the Coast Guard about 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor, in the Aleutian Islands. One person remained missing on Sunday afternoon, and a search was being conducted with helicopters and a C-130 plane, officials said. One of the four died in the rescue operation, they said. The authorities on Sunday had not released the names of the four people who died or the missing person.
The ship later sank, The Associated Press reported Sunday night.
The crew of the boat, the 184-foot Alaska Ranger, contacted the Coast Guard at 2:50 a.m. Sunday to report that it was taking on water. The entire 47-member crew is believed to have put on rescue suits and abandoned the ship for lifeboats, said Petty Officer Third Class Levi Read of the Coast Guard office in Juneau.
The Coast Guard said a rescue helicopter from St. Paul, Alaska, a C-130 from Kodiak, Alaska, and the Coast Guard Cutter Munro were involved in the rescue mission. A sister ship of the Alaska Ranger, the Alaska Warrior, also helped in the rescue.
It was not immediately clear why the Alaska Ranger began to sink, the Coast Guard said.
“It’s been reported that they were having rudder trouble before they called for help, then they called to say they were taking on water,” Petty Officer Read said. “It has not been reported where the water was coming from.” He said the case would be investigated.
Dutch Harbor is one of the largest fisheries ports in the United States. Until recently, it was the No. 1 fishing port in terms of tonnage and value of catch.
The Ranger is owned by the Fishing Company of Alaska, which is based in Seattle. A person who answered the phone at the company’s offices on Sunday afternoon said the company was not yet prepared to comment.
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