Alaska’s Anchorage The Coast Guard announced Monday that it has halted its search for five individuals thought to be on a fishing boat that overturned in choppy waters in the Gulf of Alaska.
Over 108 square nautical miles were searched over the course of almost a day.
In a statement, Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska search and rescue mission coordinator Chief Warrant Officer James Koon said, “We stand in sorrow and solidarity with the friends and family of the people we were unable to find over the past 24 hours.”
When the Wind Walker’s crew sent a Mayday call at 12:10 a.m. on Sunday, stating that the 50-foot boat was overturning off Point Couverden, southwest of Juneau, the Coast Guard launched the search. According to a Coast Guard press release, the crew did not respond when the Coast Guard attempted to obtain additional information while organizing a response.
According to the news release, the Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and a response boat arrived at the location after the state ferry Hubbard, which had overheard the transmission, arrived first. Responders had to deal with heavy snow, winds of up to 60 mph, and 6-foot seas while a winter storm warning was still in effect.
The Healy and Douglas Denman, two Coast Guard cutters, joined the hunt. Responders discovered two strobe lights and seven empty cold-water immersion suits, but no other indications of the boat or its occupants. Despite using underwater sonar as well, the Healy was unable to locate the ship.
The cold-water immersion suits were seen by the helicopter crew from the air close to Spasski Bay, which is roughly ten miles southwest of Point Couverden. According to Coast Guard Petty Officer John Hightower, three of the survival suits were spotted on land and four were in the bay’s waters.
According to him, the suits were empty, and it was unclear at first if they had been worn.
The full-body suits are designed to help you live in cold water and are constructed of a material that resembles neoprene and can be put on quickly and easily over clothing, according to Hightower. In order for someone in the water to rest their head and stay afloat, they also contain an inflated pillow and a flotation device.
Because the cutters had the GPS coordinates of the Wind Walker’s emergency beacon, they were able to search a relatively small area, according to Hightower. It’s probable that the ship capsized and sank because the crew reported that it was overturning.
Since we haven’t been able to verify it ourselves, we try not to rule anything out, but that sounds like the most plausible scenario, he said.
The Juneau National Weather Service reported that the water was approximately 45 degrees Fahrenheit and that up to 17 inches of snow had fallen in Juneau over the weekend.
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