1 fisherman dead, 2 missing off Oregon Coast

PORTLAND — The captain of a boat that capsized more than a mile off the entrance to Coos Bay, Ore., was able to make it to shore, while one fisherman died and two more were missing, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Klingenberg said the commercial fishing vessel overturned about 9 p.m. Tuesday. He said a good Samaritan took the captain to Air Station North Bend. His name and condition were not available.

“We just know that he was alive,” Klingenberg said.

The Coast Guard dispatched helicopter and boat crews, and found one body. Capt. Michael Trimpert, commander of the Coast Guard Sector North Bend, said the agency will saturate the search area in an effort to find the missing fishermen.

Klingenberg said the wind was blowing at more than 30 mph when an emergency beacon alerted the Coast Guard of a boat in distress. The seas were 8- to-10 feet.

Information about the name and size of the overturned boat was not immediately available.

Commercial fishing regularly ranks as one of the nation’s most dangerous jobs. The Discovery network series, “Deadliest Catch,” which highlights the dangers of fishing in Alaska, announced last month it was going to launch a spinoff in Oregon — in a village about 100 miles north of Coos Bay.