Search continues for crew of sunken ship in Alaska

JUNEAU, Alaska (CNN) -- The Coast Guard continued its search Wednesday for 13 crew members rescuers hope may still be alive after their fishing vessel sank off the Alaskan coast Monday, but hopes of finding survivors was fading, officials said.

"We hope to find someone alive but if we don't find someone today the chance of survivability is practically down to nil," said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Ray Massey in Juneau.

Bodies of two of the 15 crew members aboard the Arctic Rose were located in the water, but because of rough seas, rescuers were able to retrieve only one of the bodies, that of Capt. David M. Rundall.

The ship sank about 200 miles northwest of St. Paul Island early Monday morning. Two Coast Guard cutters, the Polar Star and the Boutwell, along with a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 plane from Kodiak, Alaska, are searching the area.

The Coast Guard had planned to launch three helicopters to assist in the search but worsening weather prevented that, Massey said.

"Winds are now up to 30 knots and the seas are at 10 to 12 feet," he said. "The Boutwell is attempting to chip 6 inches of ice off its flight deck so it can launch its helicopter."

Water temperatures are around 40 degrees, Massey said, and with more than 48 hours having passed since the accident, the hope of finding survivors is slim.

"We verified there was only one life raft on the boat and that was found empty. If they're in survival suits they're on the outside parameters for staying alive," Massey said. Officials have said the ship had enough survival suits for the crew.

If all 15 died, it would be "the biggest single loss of life on a commercial fishing vessel in the United States in about 20 years," said Coast Guard Public Information Officer Dan Dewell in Washington.

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