The search for five people believed to be onboard a fishing vessel that capsized in rough seas in the Gulf of Alaska has been suspended, the coast guard said on Monday.
The search lasted nearly a day and covered more than 108 sq nautical miles.
“We stand in sorrow and solidarity with the friends and family of the people we were not able to find over the past 24 hours,” James Koon, a search and rescue mission coordinator at the coast guard’s south-east Alaska sector, said in a statement.
The crew of the approximately 50ft (15-meter) boat, the Wind Walker, sent a mayday call that the vessel was overturning at about 12.10am, but the Coast Guard’s attempts to get more information from the crew went unanswered, according to a press release from the military branch. The Wind Walker capsized on waters off Point Couverden, south-west of Juneau.
The crew of a ferry named the AMHS Hubbard overheard the broadcast and went to the scene first, with the coast guard launching an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and a response boat, according to the press release. Seven cold-water immersion suits and two strobe lights were found in the water in the search area.
Responders faced heavy snow, winds up to 60mph (96km/h) and 6ft seas, with part of the region, which is located in the Gulf of Alaska, under a winter storm warning.