4 survivors found after boat disappears off Alaska

[uppityperson]

Source: AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Four crew members of a fishing boat were plucked alive from a life raft in frigid, stormy seas in a remote Alaskan island chain Wednesday, hours after their vessel was reported in distress, a Coast Guard spokesman said. Three crew members died, and four remained missing.

A search continues for other members of the Katmai, a 93-foot fish processor based on Alaska's Kodiak island, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read. The water was 43 degrees when rescuers hauled the survivors out of the raft, Read said. He couldn't speculate on how long they were in the raft because it was not known exactly when they abandoned their boat. Still, he said, several factors helped them survive.

"That takes a lot of fortitude and a lot of heart," Read said. Their survival suits, their physical condition, and an effort to keep one another semi-warm and awake all could have helped them endure, he said.

The four survivors were discovered in the raft near the Amchitka Pass, which links the Bering Sea to the Pacific Ocean about 1,400 miles southwest of Anchorage....

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MISSING_VESSEL?SITE=VTBEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Seattle and Alaska ties to this boat and crew. 4 survivors found, 3 bodies, 4 still missing. RIP and condolences.

[dubeskin]

1. Darnit!

You see? This is what happens when Palin leaves her post. We need to be keeping a watch on those damn Russians! They're the ones behind this! In fact, they're probably working with Obama to sabotage Palin's reputation!

:sarcasm:

Hope the other 4 are found safe, and I give my deepest condolences as well.

[uppityperson]

2. Last yr a boat I knew went down, all crew got off though, including 20 yr old

schoolmate of UPJr. Yeah, darn that Putin head.

[Kalifornia.Kid]

3. Must have crashed boat into that bridge to nowhere or that invisible natural gas pipe

[Nambe]

4. Do you think she charges for rescue kits?

[BrotherBuzz]

5. You 'betcha, if she lands that federal gig

[Thothmes]

6. It is sad that the deaths of several fisherman

has become the basis for the ususal political gas that is common at election time. No remores for those lost, just another opportunity to spout off.

[uppityperson]

8. Thank you. I keep hoping more would lament their deaths, too jaded perhaps?Update, 5 dead, 2 missing

Hey people, do you eat fish and chips? This boat was fishing cod. At least 5 are dead, 2 still missing. I read in another article the ID'd captain survived.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j1_0O6UVFruF-tz3pziNAxec5t1wD94082V00

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Two fisherman were missing Thursday after a fish-processing vessel sank in frigid, stormy seas off a remote Alaskan island chain with an 11-man crew. Five men were killed and four survived.

The search for the two men missing from their ship, the Katmai, was to resume at daybreak Thursday.
(clip)
The newspaper said the captain, 40-year-old Henry Blake, was identified by his brother, Paul Blake. Paul Blake says Henry had been captain of the Katmai for just a few months but had been fishing his entire adult life. His fate was unknown.

[damntexdem]

7. Did Sarah Palin see them from her front porch?

Actually, they were probably lucky that she was out of the state, so not using the highway patrol's plane.

[uppityperson]

9. There is no highway in the ocean where they were found.

Thank you for the kick, but realize that people died here. I live in WA and have lived in AK and people die fishing most every yr and it is sad.