Four crew members of Alaskan fishing boat confirmed dead

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Four crew members died Sunday and another was missing after a Seattle-based fishing boat began sinking in high seas off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, the Coast Guard said.

The dead were among 47 crew members who abandoned ship after the 184-foot Alaska Ranger developed problems. Forty-two crew members were recovered safely, but a search was continuing for the missing person, said Chief Petty Officer Barry Lane.

The vessel started taking on water shortly before 3 a.m. after losing control of its rudder 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor, which is on Unalaska Island.

State environmental regulators were notified that the ship was carrying 100,000 gallons of diesel, according to Leslie Pearson, emergency response manager for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. A Coast Guard c-130 crew reported an oil sheen that covered an area of a quarter mile by a half mile, a Coast Guard spokesman said.