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Japanese fisherman missing after boat sinks in Bering Sea

The Coast Guard was scanning the icy Bering Sea for a Japanese fisherman who may have been dropped from a rescue basket after the vessel he was on sank, killing four people and leaving survivors bobbing in the ocean.

The missing crew member was identified as Satashi Konno of Japan. The cutter searched for Konno until late on Monday, when it left for Dutch Harbor, about 193km to the east. Aerial searches continued late Monday, Chief Petty Officer Barry Lane said.

The 62m Alaska Ranger was on its way to mackerel grounds on Sunday when it began taking on water in rough seas. A former captain of the ship recalled the vessel on Monday as being "very unstable."

Forty-two people on board were helped by rescue swimmers and hoisted to helicopters after the Seattle-based ship sank; additional help came from crew on a nearby fishing vessel. The captain and three crew members died. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the ship to sink.

HYPOTHERMIA?

A preliminary investigation shows the four men did not make it to life rafts and died of hypothermia, Alaska Wildlife Troopers Sergeant Greg Garcia said.

"It appears they were in the water for about six hours, and as you may know the Bering Sea is phenomenally cold," Garcia said.

"I don't know if there wasn't enough room in the rafts or not for them, but it sounds to me that the hierarchy wanted to assure everybody else is saved," he said, based upon the troopers' interviews with members of the Ranger's sister vessel, the Alaska Warrior, which assisted in rescue efforts.

Konno was wearing a survival suit, but water temperatures were a dangerous 2oC, Lane said.

"It's not a pleasant state," Lane said on Monday. "We are trying to find him as quickly as possible."

Konno, whose age was unknown, perhaps fell into the water from a rescue basket, and officials were investigating. It was not clear whether that person might have been Konno, officials said.

RAGING SEAS

When the ship sank, waves up to 6m and winds of nearly 50kph were reported, Lane said, revising earlier estimates of 2.5m waves.

Coast Guard swimmers plucked several crew members either out of the sea or from life boats onto helicopters during a rescue operation that began about two hours after the mayday call was received.

"Saving 42 people in Bering Sea in the winter is an incredible accomplishment," Coast Guard Commander Todd Trimpert said in a prepared statement.
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