Alaska crab boat sinks; 5 people reported missing, 2 rescued
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Five people were reported missing after a crabbing vessel sank off the coast of the Alaskan peninsula overnight Tuesday.
Two other people were rescued since the Scandies Rose sank near Sutwik Island in the Gulf of Alaska, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
A mayday call was heard around 10 p.m. local time, Seattle's FOX affiliate Q13 reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Winds of 40 mph had caused treacherous sailing conditions Tuesday evening, including 15- to 20-foot waves and reduced visibility.
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The Coast Guard has been using a Jayhawk helicopter and a Hercules airplane to search a wide swath of the chilly sea for potential additional survivors, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Scandies Rose's home port is at Dutch Harbor in Unalaska, a capital of sorts for the crabbing industry, about 400 miles west of the vessel's last known location.
The vessel works seasonally with a Seattle-based seafood company, Q13 reported.
The crabbing industry has historically been a very dangerous line of work. In 2017, a Washington state-based crab boat, Destination, sank after accumulating sea-spray ice in the Bering Sea near St. Paul. The six crew members aboard were lost.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The business of crabbing has received increased visibility nationwide, having been chronicled for the past 15 years by the Discovery Channel on its popular "Deadliest Catch" program narrated by Mike Rowe.
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Over the years, the program has followed Coast Guard helicopter crews that have taken part in dangerous rescues of crabbers in distress.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Coast Guard spokeswoman Melissa McKenzie told Aleutian Islands radio station KUCB that officials don't yet know the cause of the Scandies Rose's sinking.
"Right now, our primary focus is trying to find the five people who are still missing. Once the search-and-rescue aspect of this has concluded, then we will start focusing on the investigation side of it," she told the station.
The two individuals who were rescued have been taken to a Kodiak hospital where they remained in stable condition, KUCB reported.