Alaska News

Tugboat rescues 5 Hooper Bay men adrift in the Bering Sea

Five men were rescued after their small boat ran out of gas and drifted into the Bering Sea on Friday night, Alaska State Troopers said.

The Bethel troopers post received a call at 11:04 p.m. about a drifting boat near Hooper Bay and contacted the Coast Guard, according to troopers. The men in the 21-foot boat, all from the village of Hooper Bay, had missed high tide and were unable to enter the bay by river, eventually running out of gas, according to troopers. The boat drifted into the Bering Sea.

Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said troopers don't know why the men were on the water.

She said the men were rescued from the aluminum boat with a homemade cabin about four hours after troopers received the call.

The Coast Guard launched a helicopter from Kodiak and contacted a tugboat, the Siku, in the area, troopers said. The tug found and towed the boat into Hooper Bay, according to troopers.

None of the men in the boat, ages 16 to 28, was injured.

Reach Benjamin Brasch at bbrasch@adn.com or 257-4349. Twitter: twitter.com/ben_brasch

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By BENJAMIN S. BRASCH

bbrasch@adn.com

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