US Coast Guard is searching for 5 people after a fishing boat reportedly capsized in seas off Alaska

By JESSE BEDAYN The Associated Press

The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday it’s searching for five people after a fishing boat reportedly capsized in rough weather and seas near Alaska’s capital of Juneau.

The crew of the approximately 50-foot (15-meter) boat, the Wind Walker, sent a mayday call that the vessel was overturning around 12:10 a.m., but the Coast Guard’s attempts to get more information from the crew went unanswered, according to a Coast Guard press release. The Wind Walker capsized on waters off Point Couverden, southwest of Juneau.

The crew of a ferry named the AMHS Hubbard overheard the broadcast and went to the scene first, with the Coast Guard launching an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and a response boat, according to the press release. Seven cold-water immersion suits and two strobe lights were found in the water in the search area.

Responders faced heavy snow, winds up to 60 mph (96 kph) and 6-foot (1.8-meter) seas, with part of the region, which is located in the Gulf of Alaska, under a winter storm warning.

The Coast Guard said that people who know the crew of the Wind Walker, which originated just south of Point Couverden in Icy Strait, said there were five people aboard, but officials have not yet been able to confirm that number.

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Jesse Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.