By Colette Czarnecki (KSTK) and Shelby Herbert (KFSK)
A Petersburg seiner overturned just south of Wrangell in Anita Bay at about 10 a.m. this morning.
Multiple entities responded – the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Forest Service, and Wrangell Search and Rescue helped evacuate all five crewmembers aboard the 58-foot Pamela Rae. The crew made it out unharmed, except for one person who sustained a minor injury.
Lieutenant Matt Naylor, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard, said they don’t know what caused the Pamela Rae to overturn, but it could have been a mechanical problem.
“Our understanding based on what was relayed to us over the radio was that they were taking in water, and they rolled over at that point,” he said.
The crew of another vessel, the Confidence, took the Pamela Rae’s distress call, which they relayed to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard did not send any personnel to help the overturned vessel. Instead, they coordinated with the Forest Service and Wrangell Search and Rescue to evacuate the crew.
A Forest Service boat picked up the four uninjured crew members. The person with minor injuries was transported by the Search and Rescue float plane to Wrangell.
The U.S. Coast Guard will investigate this incident. This is a developing story.
