Rescuers are searching for a 50-foot fishing vessel called the Wind Walker after the U.S. Coast Guard said it capsized in rough water southwest of Juneau, Alaska, early Sunday. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
Dec. 1 (UPI) — Five people are missing after a fishing boat capsized near the tiny southeast Alaskan village of Couverden Point, the U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday.
The 50-foot fishing boat Wind Walker, based in Sitka, issued a mayday call at 12:10 a.m. Sunday, saying they “were overturning,” according to the Coast Guard watchstanders.
“The watchstanders attempted to gather additional information but received no response,” the Coast Guard said in its statement.
The distress call was picked up by the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Hubbard, which arrived on the scene first.
In addition to the mayday call, the Coast Guard said it also received an emergency position-indicating radio beacon alert that was registered to the vessel. The signal originated just south of Point Couverden in Icy Strait, an island in Alaska’s Haines Borough, southwest of Juneau.
The Coast Guard has said rescue workers are searching the water in “very rough conditions,” and that they found evidence of the vessel, suggesting it had capsized.
The Coast Guard said that “seven cold-water immersion suits and two strobe lights have been located in the water in the search area” as responders continued searching for the people who are missing.
Some reports on social media said they had been found, but the Coast Guard disputed that.
“We are aware of reports on social media claiming individuals from this incident have been located. At this time, the CG has not confirmed these claims and is continuing search efforts,” it said in a social media post.
The Coast Guard said there had been heavy, blowing snow and 60 mile-per-hour winds, causing ocean swells of 6 feet or more in the area at the time of the distress call. There has been no sign of any of the people who had been on board.
The number of passengers on the Wind Walker was attributed to people familiar with them. Good Samaritans and the state ferry are assisting the Coast Guard in its search for the 5 people who are missing, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
“This number has not been confirmed and is subject to change pending new information,” the Coast Guard said in the statement.
Despite Alaska’s enormous size and vast stretches of ocean, maritime emergencies routinely prompt a large response from residents who often know – or know of – the victims, and rally to help.
In addition to being familiar with the people and the fishing lifestyle, they are often intimately knowledgeable about the conditions and geographical makeup of the areas where incidents can occur. Especially in southeast Alaska.
The ferries are the region’s main source of public transportation and are operating 24 hours a day in the waters, shuttling residents among the islands and sometimes to the U.S. mainland. Most of the towns in that part of the state are remote, and not connected by roads. Their constant presence in the water makes ferry crews and passengers another set of eyes looking for the victims of the capsized fishing boat.
The search, while somewhat hampered by the severe weather, is happening on the water and from the air. When conditions permit, a Coast Guard search and rescue Jayhawk 60 helicopter is trying to coordinate the efforts, joining a 45-foot response boat from the Juneau station.
“Right now, we are using all available resources to try to find these people and bring them home safely,” Coast Guard Petty Officer John Hightower told KTUU-TV. “We’re continuing to search until any amplifying information comes up that would change those efforts or change our focus.”