5:00 p.m. update:
One man is dead and another missing after the Kodiak-based fishing vessel Advantage sank early this morning 14 miles southeast of Kodiak Island.
Three crew members were rescued from their liferaft by a Coast Guard helicopter around 1 a.m.
Coast Guard spokeswoman Sara Francis says none were wearing survival suits.
Leif Bolan, the skipper of the 58-foot Advantage, died after he and two crewmen were transported to Kodiak, suffering from hypothermia. The other two are reported to be recovering. Their names have not been released.
The missing crewman’s name is Jaime Gallega. The search for him was ongoing as of news time.
A signal from an emergency locator beacon was received by the Coast Guard just after midnight, and after the ship could not be raised via radio, a Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Kodiak was sent to the scene.
There were clear skies, two- to three-foot seas and a water temperature of about 52 degrees Fahrenheit reported by the helicopter crew. The Coast Guard is investigating the sinking.
Original post:
The Coast Guard has been searching all night for one crew member still missing after a fishing boat sank south of Kodiak. An automated distress signal from the 58-foot Advantage was picked up just after midnight 50 miles southeast of Kodiak city. Three crewmen were rescued and are being treated for hypothermia.
Coast Guard civilian search and rescue controller Adam DeRocher in Juneau says when the helicopter launched from Air Station Kodiak around 1 a.m., the EPIRB satellite signal was not precise:
“While they were en route we got an ambiguity resolution, which is a positive position for the EPIRB, passed that to them. When they got on scene they located a debris field and shortly after that they located a life raft with three persons on board. So they successfully and safely hoisted the three men into the helo and transported them to awaiting EMS in kodiak, and then went back out to look for the remaining one individual that is un-located,” DeRocher said.
No names have been released yet. DeRocher says none of the rescued crewmen were wearing survival suits. He said the cause of the sinking is as yet unknown.
