The Coast Guard rescued a fisherman whose vessel sank near Murder Cove, Alaska, according to the agency.
Coast Guard watchstanders received a report at 10:28 a.m. Monday that a boater aboard the 40-foot wooden fishing vessel Tyee had not been heard from since approximately 6 a.m. Sunday. The boater had departed Sitka on Friday and was headed to Ketchikan.
After initial attempts to locate the boater by radio and cellphone, the Coast Guard launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Sitka and the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Pike.
At approximately 3 p.m., a fishing vessel found an ice chest and life raft in Murder Cove. The Coast Guard helicopter located the man at approximately 5 p.m. on the shore of Admiralty Island, two miles east of Murder Cove. He was hoisted aboard in stable condition and transported to Sitka for treatment.
According to the survivor, he donned a survival suit and entered a life raft after his vessel began taking on water and sank around 5 p.m. Sunday. He then swam to shore after the life raft also began taking on water.
"The survivor donning an immersion suit drastically extended his survival time and gave our search crews the fighting chance needed to bring him home safely," said Cmdr. Rianne Troutman, search and rescue mission coordinator for Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska.