Sunday, March 23, 2008

Fishing vessel Alaska Ranger sinking near Dutch Harbor

The Coast Guard is responding to a sinking vessel with 47 people onboard 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor. The Coast Guard just told AlaskaReport that the Cutter with the rescued crewman will be arriving shortly in Dutch Harbor.

The AP reports that four crewmembers are dead.

The Coast Guard has told AlaskaReport that 43 of 47 crewmembers have been rescued as of 12:58 pm.

When a mayday was first reported, the 180-foot ship was in 6-to-8 foot seas with about 25 knot winds.

From a Coast Guard press release: The Coast Guard is responding to a sinking vessel with 47 people onboard 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor.

The fishing vessel Alaska Ranger, based out of Seattle, began sinking at approximately 2:50 a.m. this morning when it notified the Coast Guard that it had lost control of its rudder and was taking on water.

A Coast Guard rescue helicopter from St. Paul, a Coast Guard C-130 from Kodiak and the Coast Guard Cutter Munro are all en route to recover the crew members of the Alaska Ranger.

All 47 crew members have abandoned ship and are currently in life rafts.

The Coast Guard said that two helicopters, a C-130 transport aircraft, the cutter Munro based out of Kodiak and the Alaska Ranger's sister ship, the Alaska Warrior, are taking part in the rescue operation.


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