The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing to search for one of two men still missing from a fishing vessel, after both of its crew members went overboard near Juneau overnight Monday.
According to a Tuesday statement from Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer 3rd Class Grant DeVuyst, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Sitka and a 45-foot boat from Juneau are searching for the crewman in Icy Strait, about 40 miles west of Juneau, with the Coast Guard cutter Liberty en route from Auke Bay. An urgent marine information broadcast, asking mariners for assistance in finding the crewman from the 34-foot fishing vessel Swift, has also been issued.
According to the Associated Press, a deck hand on the Swift fell overboard, prompting the skipper -- the vessel's only other crew member -- to launch a skiff, before he also fell overboard.
"Coast Guard Sector Juneau command center watchstanders received a relayed report of distress from the crew of the 57-foot fishing vessel Pacific Horizon just after midnight," DeVuyst wrote. "The Pacific Horizon crew had rendezvoused with the Swift, found no one aboard and notified the Coast Guard."
The Jayhawk's crew found the skipper on a beach near an overturned skiff Tuesday morning, suffering from mild hypothermia. DeVuyst says he was taken directly to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau for treatment.
"Right now, our No. 1 priority is locating the missing man," DeVuyst said.
According to the Coast Guard, the missing man was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and black rain pants. Weather conditions in Icy Strait include light winds, calm seas, and water temperatures of 60 degrees.
Contact Chris Klint