A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter yesterday rescued five fishermen forced to abandon their sinking vessel west of Kodiak.
The Coast Guard received a call at 11:35 a.m. that the F/V Scandia was taking on water and the crew was unable to keep up with the rate of flooding.
The crew donned survival suits, deployed a 17-foot skiff and abandoned ship.
The Coast Guard helicopter hoisted all five crewmen from the skiff at 1:23 p.m. and safely delivered them to Air Station Kodiak.
The 56-foot vessel remained partially submerged more than 70 miles west of Kodiak, the Coast Guard said.
The Scandia is listed in state records as a wood purse seiner and jig boat built in 1950 and homeported in Kodiak. The owner is Luke Anderson.