A search is underway after a fishing boat reportedly capsized in bad weather near Hoonah early Sunday morning, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that it received a mayday call shortly after midnight on Sunday from the Wind Walker, a 52-foot seiner based in Sitka. The crew reported that their boat was overturning.
The Coast Guard tried to gather additional information from the crew, but received no response, the statement said. Soon after, an emergency position-indicating radio beacon registered to the Wind Walker was detected just south of Point Couverden, in Icy Strait.
This type of device — called an EPIRB — is attached to the cabin of a boat, and releases automatically when submerged.
The state ferry Hubbard was in the vicinity and overheard the mayday, and diverted to Wind Walker’s last reported location to begin the search. A helicopter from Air Station Sitka and a 45-foot medium-response boat from Coast Guard Station Juneau arrived and joined the Hubbard, as did the Coast Guard cutter Healy.
The Coast Guard believes five crew were on board the Wind Walker when it capsized. Reports on social media claiming that some of the victims had been found were incorrect. The Coast Guard said in an 8 p.m. update that none of the people missing had been located. So far, it said, only seven survival suits and two strobe lights have been located in the water in the search area.
Local weather conditions in Icy Strait early Sunday morning included heavy snow, 45 to 60 mile-per-hour winds, and 6-foot seas.
The Coast Guard is asking anyone with information about the situation to contact them at 907-463-2980.
Robert Woolsey is the news director at KCAW in Sitka.
