Coast Guard rescues 5 Alaska fishermen from life raft

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Coast Guard helicopter plucked five commercial fishermen from a life raft after their fishing boat ran aground in southeast Alaska.

The crew of the Masonic, based in Sitka, radioed a mayday call just after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday and said their 62-foot (18.9-meter) fishing boat was going down.

The Sitka-based helicopter and the Petersburg-based cutter Anacapa responded.

The helicopter found the stricken vessel at about 4 a.m. The five crew members were in survival suits on a life raft tied to the stern of the vessel grounded on Coronation Island southeast of Sitka.

Coast Guard Capt. Stephen White says the Masonic had received a commercial fishing vessel dockside examination before departing and had conducted an abandon ship drill.

He says their preparation probably saved their lives.