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Five Missing After Crab Fishing Boat Sinks Off Alaska Five Missing After Crab Fishing Boat Sinks Off Alaska
(about 8 hours later)
Coast Guard rescuers were searching for five people after the boat they were on sank off Alaska, officials said on Wednesday. After a 20-hour search covering 1,400 square miles, the Coast Guard called off a search for five people who were missing after the fishing boat they were on sank off Alaska, officials said.
Two crew members were rescued after the boat, a 130-foot-long crab fishing vessel called the Scandies Rose, sank near Sutwik Island around 10 p.m. on Tuesday with seven aboard, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The search for the missing crew members was suspended at 6:08 p.m. local time on Wednesday, “after exhausting all leads and careful consideration of survival probability,” according to a statement released early Thursday morning.
“We are conducting an extensive search in a 300-square-mile area to locate the five missing persons from the Scandies Rose,” Lt. Wade Arnold, command duty officer at the 17th District command center, said in the statement. “The decision to suspend an active search and rescue case is never easy, and it’s only made after careful consideration of a myriad of factors,” said Rear Adm. Matthew Bell, the 17th District Commander. “Our deepest condolences to the friends and families impacted by this tragedy.”
Two of the crew members were rescued from a life raft by a Coast Guard helicopter, officials said. The Coast Guard dispatched MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and HC-130 Hercules airplane crews from Air Station Kodiak after receiving information about the Scandies Rose’s mayday call. Two crew members were rescued after the boat, a 130-foot-long crab fishing vessel called the Scandies Rose, sank near Sutwik Island around 10 p.m. on Tuesday with seven aboard, the Coast Guard said in an statement.
They were rescued from a life raft by a Coast Guard helicopter, officials said.
The crew members were taken to a hospital and were in stable condition, said Petty Officer Second Class Melissa McKenzie of the 17th District.The crew members were taken to a hospital and were in stable condition, said Petty Officer Second Class Melissa McKenzie of the 17th District.
Diverted from the Bering Sea, the Coast Guard cutter Mellon was expected to arrive in the area Wednesday evening to assist with the search, she said. Gary Cobban Jr., 61, and his son David, 30, were both aboard the boat when it sank, Deanna Cobban, the elder Mr. Cobban’s sister, said late Wednesday night. She said both of the men were among the five missing crew members.
Gary Cobban Jr., 61, and his son David, 30, were both aboard the boat when it sank, Deanna Cobban, the elder Mr. Cobban’s sister, said late Wednesday night as the two men were still missing.
Ms. Cobban said her brother, the captain and a part owner of the Scandies Rose, was a third-generation Alaska fisherman.Ms. Cobban said her brother, the captain and a part owner of the Scandies Rose, was a third-generation Alaska fisherman.
She described the elder Mr. Cobban as a “hard-working crab fisher” who spent all his time out on the boat. She described the elder Mr. Cobban as a “hard-working crab fisher” who spent all his time out on the boat. “He loved fishing,” she said. “He’s a crabber.”
“He loved fishing,” she said. “He’s a crabber.”
Mr. Cobban, who had been fishing with his son in recent years, would not have gotten on a boat if it was not safe, Ms. Cobban said.Mr. Cobban, who had been fishing with his son in recent years, would not have gotten on a boat if it was not safe, Ms. Cobban said.
It is not clear how the boat, which was on its way to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, sank, she said.It is not clear how the boat, which was on its way to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, sank, she said.
“All we know is Gary knew he couldn’t save the boat, he put out a mayday that we’re going to have to abandon,” Ms. Cobban said.“All we know is Gary knew he couldn’t save the boat, he put out a mayday that we’re going to have to abandon,” Ms. Cobban said.
The Scandies Rose’s last known position was 170 miles southwest of Air Station Kodiak, on Kodiak Island. The Scandies Rose’s last known position was 170 miles southwest of Air Station Kodiak, on Kodiak Island. Coast Guard officials said at the time of the search, winds were whipping at more than than 40 miles per hour and the seas were 15 to 20 feet.
The Coast Guard deployed four MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews, two HC-130 Hercules airplane crews and a Coast Guard Cutter Mellon that was diverted from the Bering sea.
Maria Cramer contributed reporting