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9 dead as boat capsizes off Oregon coast
A charter fishing boat carrying 19 passengers and crew members capsized off the Oregon coast early on Saturday, killing at least nine people.
A charter fishing boat carrying 19 passengers and crew members capsized off the Oregon coast early on Saturday, killing at least nine people, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Rescuers were searching for one person believed to be in the frigid Pacific waters.
The 10-metre (32-foot) Taki Tooo capsized Saturday morning in five-metre(15-foot) breaking surf as it sailed out of Tillamook Bay, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Portland, said Coast Guard Cmdr. Patrick Brennan.
Eight survivors were brought to the emergency room at Tillamook County General Hospital suffering from hypothermia and needing oxygen because of near drowning, said nursing supervisor Heather Scovell.
"They hit a wave wrong and the boat capsized, that's what I was told," Scovell said. "They're cold, in shock." Those at the hospital ranged in age from 13 to 48; seven are male and one is female, Scovell said. Some were members of the same family.
Nine people from the capsized boat had been confirmed dead, said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Paul Painter.
The Coast Guard sent three helicopters and two lifeboats to the mouth of the bay, near a jetty, where the wreckage of the boat has since washed ashore, Brennan said.
In 10 degree (50 F) water, the longest anyone could likely survive in that part of the ocean would be four to eight hours, he said.
