The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for survivors after a charter boat sank off the coast of Alaska on Sunday, leaving one person dead and four others missing.
The search began after Coast Guard workers at Sector Juneau received a call Sunday night from Kingfisher Charters alerting them that a 30-foot charter vessel with five people on board had not arrived at its destination, the Coast Guard said in a news release.
The vessel had last been seen underway on Sunday afternoon, the agency said.
Search crews found one person dead Sunday night before locating the boat, which was partially submerged off Low Island, about 10 miles west of Sitka, the agency said.
They continued to search for the four people still missing on Monday, but suspended the operation at sunset, the Coast Guard said.
The person found dead and the four missing have yet to be publicly identified.
Kingfisher Charters did not immediately respond to an overnight request for comment from NBC News.
Air and vessel rescue teams searched a total of 825 square miles over the course of more than 20 hours, the Coast Guard said. A number of good Samaritan boats also helped with the search.
“Despite our best efforts and those of several partner agencies, we were not able to find the four remaining individuals,” said Darwin Jensen, Captain of the Port Southeast Alaska.
“Suspending a search is never an easy decision. We extend our deepest sympathy to the loved ones during this difficult time,” Jensen said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
