Search Ends for 9 on Capsized Boat
Coast Guard on Friday suspended its search for the bodies of nine men presumed drowned after their fishing trawler capsized and sank in the frigid Bering Sea.
Fishing vessels rescued 22 crew members who had abandoned the sinking ship on lifeboats. They were reported in good condition aboard a trawler that was taking them to Dutch Harbor, about 250 miles southeast of the accident site.
The nine were lost Thursday when the 162-foot Aleutian Enterprise sank, according to the Coast Guard, which said there was little chance that their bodies would be found.
“We had a very good search yesterday,” Lt. Brian Flory said Friday. “We think we would have found anyone who was afloat.”
The cause of the sinking was unknown, said Christopher Haley, a Coast Guard spokesman. Weather was reported to be fair when the early afternoon accident occurred.
None of the crew was wearing survival suits, Haley said. Coast Guard officials said a person could not survive the frigid 32- to 34-degree water more than 30 minutes without insulated survival gear.
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