ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A problem in the engine room led to flooding on board a fishing boat off Alaska's Aleutian Islands, forcing the crew to abandon ship, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.
The agency planned to conduct a flyover Wednesday to see if the 220-foot Alaska Juris was still afloat and determine if any pollution has spilled from the disabled vessel, Coast Guard Lt. Joseph Schlosser said.
The 46 crew members donned survival suits, got into life rafts Tuesday and were rescued by two good Samaritan ships that evening who heard the Coast Guard's emergency broadcast for help. There were no reported injuries.
Schlosser said it's not unusual for vessels to run into trouble at sea, given the "gigantic" size of Alaska, which has more coastline than the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards combined.
"I wouldn't say it's uncommon for a fishing vessel like this to become distressed," he said. "But the uncommon thing is that this luckily went very well for this crew."
The ship was listing at 5 percent when the crew members were disembarking Tuesday, Schlosser said, noting that was the last observation of the vessel. The incident is under investigation.
Conditions at the time were calm seas and limited visibility because of fog.
