Unalaska, AK – The Coast Guard has found 4 survivors in a life raft and two bodies in the water from the 92-foot cod fishing and processing vessel that is missing in the Bering Sea. The whereabouts of the other 5 crew members is still unknown. The Katmai was in Amchitka pass just west of Adak in the Aleutian Islands when the Coast Guard responded to an EPIRB signal from the ship at about 1 a-m Alaska time. Coast Guard petty officer Wes Shinn said when the MH-60 Jayhawk and the C-130 arrived from Kodiak five hours later, they only found an empty survival suit and part of a life raft. After searching from air for 6 hours, they found the body of a crew member wearing a survival suit with the name of the vessel on the back. Around 4:30 pm, they found the four survivors. The survivors were taken to Adak for treatment. The good Samaritan fishing vessel Courageous is helping with the search and found the second body as well as buoys, fishing gear, a life raft, a life ring, and another empty survival suit. Another good Samaritan vessel will be in the area by 7 pm. There are no signs of oil spills or other environmental concerns in the area.

The Katmai is home-ported in Kodiak and was headed towards Dutch Harbor. Shinn cannot confirm if the vessel has sunk because they have not found it. A Coast Guard cutter is headed towards the area and they will continue to search as long as weather permits. It's been snowing and raining there since the search began. This was the second year the boat fish cod using pots in the parallel cod fishery in state waters. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the ship was captained by Henry Blake the third and owned by a company based in Washington. The company, Katmai Fisheries Inc., says the crew is from all over the Northwest.