Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 3 January 2020
5 crew members feared dead after Alaska fishing boat sinks

By BECKY BOHRER and dies Rose, was carrying a perilous conditions in Alas- Coast Guard launched a members did, the newspa-
MARTHA BELLISLE load of crabbing pots for ka waters that have been rescue. per reported.
Associated Press the start of the winter sea- immortalized in the Discov- The vessel's last known po- The suits offer flotation and
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — hypothermia protection.
Five crew members missing David Otness, a retired
after a crab fishing vessel crab fisherman in Cordova,
sank in the frigid waters off Alaska, who spent more
Alaska were feared dead than 50 years in the Pacific
after authorities called off and Bering Sea industry,
a search for those working said it's dangerous work.
in the one of the most dan- "It's known for its loss," he
gerous industries in the U.S. said. "We can count the
Two other crew members years when that isn't the
were rescued after the di- case. It's quite a life, but
saster Tuesday, telling au- it's a labor of love and fear
thorities they were the only and respect for the world
ones who made it into a life around you."
raft, the Anchorage Daily Otness said people are
News reported. They were drawn to the job for many
hypothermic but have reasons.
been released from a hos- "It appeals to somebody
pital. with a sense of adventure,"
The Coast Guard said it he said. "The money can
used helicopters, planes be really good, and it can
and a boat to look for the end in tragedy like this."
missing crew members for The sheer size of the crab
20 hours before ending the pots, which weigh about
search late Wednesday This undated photo shows the Scandies Rose vessel in Seattle. 700 pounds each, can
because they were not Associated Press pose problems in stormy
likely to have survived. weather, Otness said.
The agency didn't release They can get covered with
any details Thursday on son, Dan Mattsen, a part- ery Channel documentary sition was 170 miles (270 ice, which causes the boat
what caused the boat to ner in the boat that is man- series "Deadliest Catch." kilometers) southwest of to be top-heavy, he said,
sink, saying that talking to aged by Seattle-Based Workers face dangers like Kodiak Island, near the describing the Scandies
the survivors is part of the Mattsen Management, huge waves, harsh weath- southern tip of Alaska, and Rose as a well-built boat
investigation. told the Seattle Times. er and massive crab pots it sank about 10 p.m. Tues- that could hold up to 250
The boat, named the Scan- Crabbing boats endure that could crush them. day, the agency said. crab pots.
Gary Knagin of Kodiak, Rescue crews arrived "It's a dance, a ballet that
Alaska, the brother-in-law about 2 a.m. Wednesday transpires," Otness said.
of the boat's captain, Gary and battled winds of more "Your center of gravity is so
Cobban, told The Associ- than 40 mph (64 kph), 15- quickly disrupted."
ated Press on Thursday to 20-foot (4.5- to 6-meter) The National Institute for
that he doesn't think the seas and visibility that was Occupational Safety and
five crew members will be limited to 1 mile (1.5 kilo- Health calls commercial
found alive. meters), Coast Guard Petty fishing one of the most dan-
"We know the risks involved Officer 2nd Class Melissa gerous occupations in the
in this profession, and I'm McKenzie said. U.S. It said there were 179
not holding out hope," said "That's rough conditions," deaths in Alaska fisheries
Knagin, who worked on a she said Thursday. between 2000 and 2014.
crab boat for 30 years in McKenzie said the air tem- From 2010 to 2014, there
Alaska's Bering Sea. "I've perature was about 10 de- were 66 vessel disasters in
seen this too many times. grees (12 below zero Cel- Alaska waters, including
There's a 13-hour window in sius). The estimated water sinkings and fires, that killed
those conditions, and they temperature in the area 15 people, the agency
passed that."Ashley Boggs was 43 degrees (6 degrees said. Leading causes of fa-
of Peru, Indiana, said she Celsius), National Weath- tal disasters were instabil-
was due to marry crew er Service meteorologist ity and being hit by large
member Brock Rainey af- Shaun Baines said. waves, it said.
ter he returned from Alaska Rescuers saw a faint light Gary Knagin's wife, Gerry
and hasn't given up hope. in one life raft, but a medic Cobban Knagin, wrote on
"I'm just praying and hop- lowered from a helicopter Facebook that her brother
ing they find him on land or found it empty, the An- Gary Cobban, the captain
something," she told AP on chorage Daily News report- and his son, David, were on
Thursday. ed. Another faint light was board.
Boggs said she received a spotted about a half-mile Knagin of Kodiak, Alaska,
call from Rainey on New (1 kilometer) away, where told Anchorage news sta-
Year's Eve saying the con- searchers found the two tion KTVA-TV that her rela-
ditions were bad. survivors, ages 38 and 34. tives were not among those
The 130-foot (40-meter) The men told rescuers that who had been rescued.
boat, which had left from they were able to get into She said she hoped he was
Dutch Harbor, sent a may- survival suits and didn't "on one of the little Islands
day distress call, and the know if the other five crew waiting for us!"q