2 dead, 3 rescued after boat capsizes near Sitka

Jan. 11—Two people were found dead and three were rescued after a boat capsized near Chichagof Island in Southeast Alaska, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard was notified by the Sitka Police Department of an overturned boat just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, the agency said in a release. A helicopter crew from Sitka responded to the area, and three people were rescued from the water just before 6 p.m., the Coast Guard said. They were taken to emergency medical personnel waiting at the Sitka airport, the agency said.

Two Coast Guard cutters and a helicopter from Kodiak also responded to the area, tracked the vessel's drift and began searching for two additional people who were still missing, the Coast Guard said. Personnel from Air Station Sitka continued searching Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The Sitka Fire Department and Alaska Wildlife Troopers joined the search on Wednesday afternoon, and found the bodies of the two missing people in the vessel's cabin with the help of an underwater drone, the Coast Guard said.

"It was with a heavy heart that we received news about the two people inside the cabin from our Sitka Fire Department search partners," Coast Guard Capt. Darwin Jensen, commander of Sector Southeast Alaska said in the release. "We send our support and strength to the family members at this time and thank our partner agencies for their assistance in this case."

The Coast Guard has not yet recovered the bodies, and said efforts to do so will commence once "on-scene conditions improve." According to the Coast Guard, initial weather in the area where the boat overturned included winds of 8-10 knots and 9-foot seas.

Additional details, including the identities of the people on the boat and the type of vessel involved in the incident, weren't immediately available Wednesday evening.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.