LaPUSH — Crews on three Coast Guard rescue vessels and a helicopter are searching today for a commercial fisherman who is missing after the boat he was on sank off the coast of La Push early this morning.
Three of four men aboard the 40-foot commercial fishing vessel Maverick were rescued after it sank following a collision with the 90-foot fishing boat Viking Storm about 30 miles off the coast of LaPush early this morning, said Petty Officer Nathan Bradshaw, Coast Guard spokesman in Seattle.
Those on the Viking Storm took the three men aboard. They were later transferred to the Coast Guard cutter Alert, and are in stable condition, Bradshaw said this morning.
Coast Guard units are currently searching for the fourth man.
The Coast Guard did not release the names of the crew.
A helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles on Ediz Hook is involved in the search, in addition to the Alert, from Astoria, Ore.; a Coast Guard motor lifeboat from Station Quillayute River in La Push and a Coast Guard rescue vessel that was on its way to Ketchikan, Alaska.
The units had been searching for the missing man for roughly five hours as of 11 a.m. today, Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw said the Coast Guard has no word on what might have caused the collision.
Damage sustained by the 90-foot vessel was not known as of 11 a.m. today.
________
Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
