The Real Story on the Coast Guard Lost at

[Catsmeow]

Thousands of gallons of oil gushed from a broken freighter and fouled Unalaska Island beaches Thursday as hope dwindled for six of its crew who were lost the night before in the crash of a Coast Guard rescue helicopter.

Responders flying over the scene Thursday saw what they thought looked like two dead cormorants.

Rear Adm. Jim Olson, the Coast Guard commander in Alaska, said at a late-night press conference that the agency believes the freighter was adrift for about 13 hours before its crew notified the Coast Guard they were in trouble. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the freighter's grounding.

Asked whether he thought the vessel should have contacted the Coast Guard sooner, Olson said investigators will determine that. "We always ask that people call as soon as they can," he said. But it was severe winter squall conditions that limited the Coast Guard's ability to assist the freighter, he said.

Olson made a daylong round-trip journey from Anchorage to Unalaska Thursday for a firsthand look. On his return, he dropped off in Kodiak the four-man crew of the helicopter that crashed.

"They're doing well," Olson said. "Quite honestly, they're glad to be alive, but they also are very upset that they were in an accident and six people lost their lives."

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It was still unclear what caused the helicopter to go down. It went into the water near the freighter. The Coast Guard will investigate, but that could be a lengthy process.

The Coast Guard and other responding agencies spent the day searching for the freighter's six missing crew members and trying to assess the spill from the air. They found no sign of the crew members, five Indians and one Filipino.

A mate on one of the tugboats during the rescue efforts Wednesday night described brutal winter winds gusting up to 60 mph and seas as high as 30 feet. "We stood by the whole time," said Steve Devitt, who crewed on the tug James Dunlap.

"We just got hammered out there."

A spokesman for the freighter's owner, IMC Transworld, said company agents had contacted the families of the missing men.

"Of course they are very sad and want to know what is going on," said IMC crew manager Loh C.W. Weng. "They are praying very hard that everyone is OK. We are praying very hard for them."

No attempts were made Thursday to contain the widening oil slick, and state environmental officials said they couldn't guess how much of the nearly 500,000 gallons of heavy bunker oil aboard had spilled. It is, however, almost certainly the largest marine spill in Alaska since the 11 million-gallon Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989.

An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter airlifting some of the freighter's last crew members crashed about 6:20 p.m. Wednesday, and the freighter split in half about an hour later.

By Thursday afternoon, the broken ship's halves lay grounded several hundred yards off the rocky beach and perhaps 50 yards apart. The bow portion faced into the Bering Sea, looking as if it were anchored and waiting for its crew to return. The stern of the ship sat lower in the water and listed slightly to the port side.

Daily News reporter Joel Gay reported from Unalaska and reporters Don Hunter and Megan Holland reported from Anchorage. Gay can be reached at jgay@adn.com, Hunter can be reached at dhunter@adn.com, and Holland can be reached at mrholland@adn.com. Reporter Tataboline Brant and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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NOTE: This is just a "brief" version of a very long article. The others who died may have died from the freighter and the 4 who crashed my just be in critical condition in the hospital....

I am not clear about this but another article in a local paper say the persons missing are unaccounted for due to the squalls of 60 mph in frigid waters.

[hmh]

Between the NTSB, the Coast Guard, and the Alaskan authorities, there are going to be heads rolling on this one.

[Guest Thomas I believe]

I hope Yukon is ok. Everyone pray for Yukon, that Gods protection is over her.

[Anne]

Amen, brother Thomas, I will continue to pray as I know everyone else will, that our Heavenly Father will work in this situation.

Your Sister in Christ Jesus

Anne

[Catsmeow]

YUKON (Cindi) is ALIVE and OKAY!!!! I just got an email.

She's there in the heat of the battle with the other Coast Guard medics, saving lives...

Here's her brief msge to me off her ship, the Sycamore:

Susan, I am ok, I'm sure you heard of that incident in the Bering sea? Well, that's where I am right now, so much prayer is needed.

Cindi

Please support Cindi with prayer...the situation is desperate!