Two fishing crew members still missing

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An e-mail sent by a doomed fishing boat to a nearby vessel said it was taking on water in the rear, where the steering was housed, the Coast Guard said Thursday as it searched for two crew members whose fates remained unknown.

It’s still not clear what happened aboard the Katmai, which sank early Wednesday in the icy waters off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands with a crew of 11 aboard. Four men survived in a life raft, and the bodies of five have been recovered.

Seattle-based Katmai Fisheries identified the survivors as Capt. Henry Blake and crew members Guy Schroeder, Adam Foster and Harold Appling.

All the crew members were able to get into survival suits, according to members of another fishing vessel in the area that received the e-mail, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read.

A search resumed at daybreak for the other two members of the 93-foot Katmai, which sank about 1,300 miles southwest of Anchorage as it was headed to port.

The survivors were found in good condition Wednesday afternoon after spending about 15 hours afloat.