Lyle Martin, of Juneau, was aboard the 36-foot fishing vessel Rascal when it ran aground and began sinking near St. Lazaria Island about 9 p.m. Saturday, the Coast Guard said.
Martin radioed a Mayday call to the Coast Guard in Juneau about a half hour before the vessel went down, Petty Officer 3rd Class Charly Hengen said in a statement. He then abandoned the vessel to the waters below, which were 53 degrees, the Coast Guard said.
Martin was not in a life boat and it was unclear whether he had on a survival suit, Hengen said. He was soon found by a Good Samaritan vessel in the area whose crew held him to the side of their vessel until the Coast Guard arrived. It was not clear Monday why the crew did not pull him into their vessel.
The Coast Guard launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Sitka that arrived about a half hour after officials got the call.
The crew hoisted Martin from the water and delivered him to emergency personnel. He was taken to Mount Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka and later medevacked to Anchorage, according to the Coast Guard. He is expected to survive, Hengen said.
Coast Guard investigators in Sitka will investigate the cause of the grounding and sinking.
The vessel contained an estimated 450 gallons of diesel fuel. On Sunday, the Coast Guard was reporting a light rainbow sheen about 500 yards wide and two miles long in the area, indicating the fuel was moving toward Cape Edgecumbe. By Monday, the sheen was gone.
The vessel was completely submerged and did not pose a threat to navigation, the Coast Guard said.
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