A Coast Guard helicopter and a good Samaritan fishing vessel helped rescue three people on a sinking vessel in Sitka Sound on Monday night, according to a press release from the Coast Guard.
At about 10:30 p.m. Monday, the captain of a 33-foot fishing vessel Leona called Coast Guard Sector Juneau to report the boat was taking on water too fast for the bilge pumps to keep up, according to the release. Coast Guard watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast, according to the release, and directed an Air Station Sitka Jayhawk MH-60 to the scene.
The Jayhawk crew lowered an emergency dewatering pump to those on the vessel, but the pump couldn’t keep up with the rate of the flooding. Fortunately, according to the release, another vessel called the Pacific Pearl came to the scene and the three people aboard the Leona abandoned ship onto the Pacific Pearl and were taken safely to Sitka.
“Even on the nicest of days at sea, an unplanned emergency can be just over the horizon,” Cmdr. Michael Kahle, Sector Juneau search and rescue mission coordinator said in the release. “We are thankful that the crew of the Leona was prepared for an emergency situation and grateful for the efforts of the Pacific Pearl to assist their fellow fishermen.”
A helicopter crew flew over the area Tuesday morning, Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer Nicholas Capuzzi said in an interview Tuesday, and all indications point to the boat having sunk. Responders were still working to locate the vessel as of early Tuesday afternoon, Capuzzi said, and Marine Safety Detachment investigators will be conducting an investigation into the cause of the leak.
Coast Guard responders found that the Leona had an estimated 130 gallons of diesel fuel on board, according to the release. There are currently no reports of pollution, but an Air Station Sitka helicopter with a pollution responder from Marine Safety Detachment Sitka will continue searching for evidence of oil in the water, according to the release.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
