The U.S. Coast Guard launched a search for five fishermen after their boat, Scandies Rose, sank near Sutwik Island in Alaska, during the late hours of Tuesday, December 31.
In fact, when the 130-foot crab fishing vessel, homeported in Dutch Harbor, sank at roughly 2200 on Tuesday had seven crew members aboard. The USCG managed to rescue two survivors while the other five are still missing.
The vessel’s last known position was 170 miles southwest of Air Station Kodiak.
It is said that watchstanders at the 17th District Command Center in Juneau were notified of a mayday call via High Frequency radio on Tuesday evening from the fishing vessel Scandies Rose, which capsized and sank approximately five miles southeast of Sutwik Island.
Subsequently, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and an HC-130 Hercules airplane were launched from the Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak. The Jayhawk helicopter crew arrived on scene and hoisted two survivors from a life raft.
The Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC 717) was diverted from the Bering Sea and was expected to arrive on scene on the evening of Wednesday, January 1. The USCG informed that weather on scene at the time was in excess of 40 mph winds, 15 to 20-foot seas and one-mile visibility.
According to a recent update, the Coast Guard has now decided to suspend the search operations for the five missing fishermen in waters near Sutwik Island on Wednesday, January 1, at 6:08 PM. It is said that the search spanned over 20 hours, covering an area of about 1,400 square miles. Rear Adm. Matthew Bell, 17th District Commander commented that
The decision to suspend an active search and rescue case is never easy, and it’s only made after careful consideration of a myriad of factors.
Rear Adm. Matthew Bell further went on to express his “deepest condolences to the friends and families impacted by this tragedy.”
In late December, the U.S. Coast Guard informed that it had saved five people from a fishing boat about to capsize, about 14 miles southeast of the Golden Gate Bridge, when the fishing vessel named “Mady Jane”, unexpectedly started taking on water.
