Update July 27, 2012 11:48 am
The Coast Guard says an 84-foot fishing vessel sank near southern Prince of Wales Island.
All four crew members were rescued and reported no medical issues.
The Coast Guard in a release says the Mary Kay began taking on water late Thursday night.
It then sank in about 600 feet of water near Dixon Entrance, about 275 miles south of Juneau.
The Coast Guard will monitor for any pollution from the estimated 2,500 gallons of fuel on board. The vessel likely won’t be recovered because of the depth of water where it sank.
Several Good Samaritan vessels and an Alaska Wildlife Troopers skiff responded. The troopers were able to take the four crew members, who were wearing immersion suits, aboard from a life raft.
July 27, 2012 6:20 am
Four people were rescued when their fishing vessel sank Friday morning in southern Southeast.
The crew of the ‘Mary Kay’ issued a mayday call before eleven o’clock Thursday night while it was in northern Dixon Entrance.
Lt.(jg) Eddie Michno of the Coast Guard Command Center in Juneau says the vessel sank about three o’clock Friday morning about ten miles south of Prince of Wales Island.
A Canadian rescue aircraft, a Coast Guard H-60 helicopter from Sitka, the Alaska State Trooper vessel ‘Enforcer’ headed to the scene along with two good samaritan vessels.
Four people abandoned the ‘Mary Kay’ into a life raft. They were picked up by the fishing vessel ‘Northwind’ and are now being taken to Ketchikan.
No major injuries were reported.
About 2,500 gallons of diesel were reported on board the ‘Mary Kay.’ Michno says the Marine Safety Detachment in Ketchikan plans to check out the scene for any pollution.
Editor’s note: The Mary Kay was initially reported by the Coast Guard as being a 78-foot vessel.
