2 dead, 3 rescued after a boat overturns near a southeast Alaska community

SITKA, Alaska (AP) — Two people died and three others were rescued from the water after a boat overturned near the southeast Alaska city of Sitka this week, authorities said.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it responded Tuesday after being notified by local police that a boat had overturned. The Coast Guard said one of its helicopters responded and rescued three people from the water around 5:50 p.m., roughly an hour after it had received the notification.

A search ensued for two missing people who were found dead in the boat cabin Wednesday after state and local authorities used an underwater drone as part of their effort to find them, the Coast Guard said.

Petty Officer Shannon Kearney said Thursday that winds and 10-foot (3-meter) to 12-foot (3.7-meter) seas were complicating efforts by authorities to recover the bodies. Kearney did not have additional information about the three survivors, including their condition at the time of their rescue.

Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, described the vessel as a “landing craft style boat.” Alaska Wildlife Troopers will conduct a death investigation, he said.