The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a fatal confined space incident aboard the freight barge Waynehoe near Ketchikan, Alaska, after four crewmembers were involved in the emergency.
The incident occurred on Sunday while the barge was moored near Skowl Arm, about 25 miles northwest of Ketchikan. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska command center in Juneau received a mayday call at 9:14 a.m. reporting that the crew of the tug Chukchi Sea had lost contact with four crewmembers inside a confined space aboard Waynehoe.
The Coast Guard directed the launch of a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Ketchikan, with members of the South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department embarked for the response. Before Coast Guard personnel arrived, the tug crew recovered one deceased crewmember and helped two others out of the confined space.
For a safe and thorough response, the barge was towed to a pier in Ketchikan. In a coordinated multi-agency effort, the body of the second deceased crewmember was recovered from the confined space on Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as Ben Fowler and Sidney Mohorovich. The other two crewmembers were reported to be in stable condition. The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
