Coast Guard rescues 4 from sinking boat

All were lifted from the water safely about a half hour later, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Sara Francis said.

The Coast Guard got a mayday call from the crew of the fishing vessel Cape Spencer at 9:45 a.m. reporting that the boat was going down. The caller is heard in a recording released by the Coast Guard saying that the vessel is taking on water and that the engine room is flooded.

The people reported that they had put on survival suits and were abandoning ship for a life raft three miles south of the island. A Jayhawk helicopter in Cordova was dispatched to the scene at 10:18 a.m.

"We were in the area so it was pretty quick," Francis said. "The helicopter got there within about 25 minutes, hoisted them right up out of the life raft and took them to Seward. They were in good shape."

They did not need medical treatment, she said.

The Coast Guard identified the rescued mariners as Kenai residents Thomas Tomrdle, 61, and his son, Thomas Tomrdle, 29; Sterling resident James Hielala, 70; and Jeremy Sullivan, 34, of Whittier.

The Cape Spencer, a 47-foot longliner, has sunk completely, according to the Coast Guard. A light diesel sheen was sighted in the area of the sinking, the Coast Guard reported.

A good Samaritan vessel, the Tia Rose, responded to an urgent marine information broadcast the Coast Guard issued and picked up the Cape Spencer's empty life raft that was drifting in the area.

The cause of the sinking wasn't immediately known. The Coast Guard reported weather on scene as winds of 28 mph with 2- to 6-foot seas.