BELLINGHAM — The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued four people without injuries from rocks and crashing waves after their ship capsized off the coast of Washington state.
A rescue helicopter hoisted the passengers on Tuesday two at a time from Cape Flattery on the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula, about 160 miles (258 kilometers) from Seattle, The Bellingham Herald reported.
Coast Guard watchstanders in Puget Sound received a distress call around 10 p.m. from the captain of a 28-foot-long (9-meter-long) vessel that was disabled and drifting near rocks, authorities said. Steep cliffs made a land rescue impractical.
All four people aboard the ship were wearing life jackets and climbed onto a ledge shortly before the ship started to sink, the Coast Guard reported.
Coast Guard Station Neah Bay’s 47-foot (14-meter) motor lifeboat and its crew first attempted rescue but couldn’t get close enough because of 6-foot (1.8-meter) seas and 20 mph (32 kph) winds.
