JUNEAU, Alaska – Coast Guard and Air Force rescue personnel have located a fisherman who became lost after his vessel ran out of fuel early today.
Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center Anchorage received a call at 1:20 a.m. from William Probst, the captain of fishing vessel Sea Gypsy, after he ran out of fuel and lost power, leaving him unable to use GPS to ascertain his location.
The Alaska Marine Highway System also assisted in the search, having nearby vessels relay messages to the Coast Guard from the Sea Gypsy’s weakening VHF radio.
Due to the limited information able to be obtained from Probst, the Coast Guard and Air National Guard launched several assets to search a wide area. The search area was determined using the last known position obtained by direction finding equipment on board a Coast Guard C-130, which had radio communication with Probst early this morning.
After an extensive 11-hour search, Probst was located near Montague Straight, in the Northern Gulf of Alaska.
An Air National Guard rescue unit airlifted Probst to a medical facility in Seward.
Severe on-scene weather conditions continue to hinder Coast Guard attempts to place the Sea Gypsy into tow.
Source: USCG D17 Public Affairs
Technorati Tags: Coast Guard, USCG, Air Force, Alaska
