Coast Guard suspends search for missing crew in Alaska amid heavy snow, 60-mph winds
File photo: Halibut island, Icy Strait, Alaska. (Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)(Getty Images)
Coast Guard teams in Alaska suspended their search for at least five people 24 hours after a fishing ship overturned on Sunday off the coast of southeastern Alaska during gale-force winds and heavy snow.
The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska received a Mayday call from the Wind Walker fishing vessel at 12:10 a.m. The crew reported the 50-foot ship was overturning. An emergency position-indicating radio beacon alert placed the vessel south of Point Couverden in the Icy Strait.
The Coast Guard Southeast Alaska Sector issued an urgent marine broadcast and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter was deployed from the Coast Guard Air Station Sitka, along with a 45-foot response boat and a crew from Juneau to search the area. A ferry vessel AMHS Hubbard overheard the broadcast and arrived on scene first to help with the search, according to the Coast Guard.
People familiar with the vessel told Coast Guard officials that five people were onboard, but that number has not been confirmed.
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The Coast Guard said seven cold-water immersion suits and two strobe lights were located in the water. As of Monday morning, none of the individuals onboard the Wind Walker have been found.
Later on Monday, the Coast Guard said it suspended its search "pending the development of new information."
Coast Guard crews searched for nearly 24 hours, covering more than 108 square nautical miles.
"We stand in sorrow and solidarity with the friends and family of the people we were not able to find over the past 24 hours," Chief Warrant Officer James Koon said. "I am deeply grateful for the swiftness of our crews and other search assets who came together to amplify our efforts and completely saturate our search areas. Our collective hearts are with the friends and families … who are experiencing the effects from this loss."
The National Weather Service in Fairbanks issued a Winter Storm Warning for parts of southeastern Alaska, including Glacier Bay National Park and Juneau. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for Hoonah, the nearest town along the Icy Straight where the Wind Walker ship went down.
Snow, wind and freezing rain are forecast through Monday morning for the watch and warning areas. Local weather conditions in the search area included heavy snow, winds between 45 and 60 mph and 6-foot seas.
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