The Coast Guard this morning is responding to a vessel in distress with four people on board about 40 miles west of Cross Sound, which is near Elfin Cove.
A Good Samaritan vessel and a Coast Guard H-60 helicopter are heading to the scene to help the crew of the 80-foot fishing vessel Kupreanof, reported as home ported in Seward. The vessel began taking on water earlier this morning and the bow is now submerged. The Coast Guard reports being notified with a mayday call and activation of an distress radio beacon.
Three of the four crewmembers have evacuated into a life raft while the skipper is reportedly still aboard the vessel.
The 300-foot vessel Gordon Jensen is within visual range. A Coast Guard C-130 will fly over the scene later this morning to check on the status of the vessel and for pollution.
The Coast Guard Command Center says conditions at the scene reported as 25-knot winds and 11-foot seas.
