9 die after wave flips boat off Oregon coast
GARIBALDI, Ore. — A charter boat carrying 19 people for a day of recreational fishing capsized in heavy surf off the northern Oregon coast yesterday, killing at least nine and sending eight to the hospital, while rescuers searched the waters for two missing people.
The 32-foot Taki-Tooo capsized in 15-foot surf about 7 a.m. just outside the entrance of Tillamook Bay, an area know for high waves and swirling currents, the Coast Guard said. The accident occurred only about 200 yards offshore.
The two still missing are Barry Sundberg of Cheney, Wash., and Tim Albus of Madras, Ore., according to the Tillamook County Sheriff's Office.
The eight survivors were all from the Northwest: Brian Loil and Richard Forsman, both of Vancouver, Wash.; Tyler Bohnet of Canby, Ore.; Mark, David and Chris Hamlett, and Dale Brown, all of Portland; and Tamara Buell, the daughter of the boat's owner, of Cloverdale, Ore.
The nine people who died are Steve Albus of Ephrata, Wash.; Larry Frick of Spokane; Dennis Tipton and Kathy Corley, of Ukiah, Ore.; Sigmud Bohnet, from Florida; Edward Loil of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Terry Galloway of Portland; Richard Hidalgo of Green Bay, Wis.; and the boat's captain, Doug Davis, who lived in Garibaldi.
 |
|
|||
|
||||
The boat's owner, Mick Buell said "a wave hit broadside and capsized the boat." Buell, who was not on board, rushed to the shore.
He said in a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times that he saw several survivors "who were just walking out of the water, just barely walking, and they were very cold. Most of the people were rescued by boat or were washed ashore — they weren't very far out."
In five years on duty, this accident was "by far the worst" in terms of deaths, said local Coast Guard Cmdr. Patrick Brennan.
The eight survivors — ranging in age from 13 to 48 — were taken to Tillamook County General Hospital. They had hypothermia and needed oxygen. All but two were released, and one of those still in the hospital was there for observation, officials said.
Rescue crews called off the search at 9 p.m. but planned to resume at dawn today, Coast Guard Chief Steven McAloney said. He said there was little chance the two would be found alive, because of frigid water temperatures.
The National Weather Service early yesterday had issued a small-craft advisory, which applies to vessels less than 65 feet long and is generally issued for winds between 23 and 38 mph.
|
|
|||
|
||||
He said the Taki-Tooo had been regularly inspected and carried safety gear, a life raft and emergency beacon, all of which were working. Brennan said the cause of the accident had not been determined and was being investigated by the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office in Portland.
Some survivors reached shore after swimming hundreds of yards, while firefighters found others bobbing in the shallow surf, said Garibaldi Fire Chief Mike Sheldon.
"There were people floating around in the water, and they were on the beach. Some of our personnel went in (the ocean) after them," Sheldon said.
Coast Guard Master Chief Lars Kent said other people on the beach also helped pull people from the water.
Kent said that although the boat was fully equipped with life vests, none of those found dead were wearing them. Some survivors were wearing the vests, including some who may have grabbed one after the boat flipped over and the devices were floating on the water, he added.
By evening, the boat, which had righted itself 40 minutes after the accident, sat upright on the beach about 200 yards north of the jetty. Its windows were punched out and the flying bridge had been ripped away from rolling in the surf. Half of the port side railing was twisted away. Its blue and white hull was largely intact, except for a deckline crack from the bow to midship on the port side.
Three life vests were tied to the rail and never used, according to Paul Fornier, Tillamook County sheriff's deputy, who was the first police officer on the scene.
Campers Jennie and Fred Wright of Portland said they rushed to the beach with blankets and sleeping bags from their nearby RV and immediately began stripping wet victims and wrapping them with sleeping bags and blankets.
Three or four victims huddled around a Subaru parked on the beach with its hood up, warming themselves from the engine, said Jennie Wright. Some were vomiting.
Jennie Wright said another three or four bodies lay lifeless scattered along the beach. "They were just laying there and nobody was helping them. You knew they were gone," she said.
The sky was overcast and the surf foreboding. "The waves were holy mackerel. They were just huge," she said.
Earl Werneke Jr., 29, of Rockaway, said he brought out three bodies and one boy who was alive.
Werneke said he and other civilian volunteers did most of the rescuing. "I think all and all, it was a weak effort here. We should be better prepared in this area," he said.
Buell, who runs Garibaldi Charters, a sport-fishing company with three boats, said 19 people aboard the vessel was not unusual.
"I feel very sorry for the families of the people," said Buell, whose daughter worked as a deckhand on the boat and survived the accident.
Buell said he considered the skipper, Douglas Davis, who died in the accident, an experienced skipper.
The Taki-Tooo was inspected by the Coast Guard on March 13 and was cited for more than a dozen violations that appear to be minor or moderate, according to Coast Guard records. Owners were ordered to correct the problems before the vessel could carry passengers, including fixing a problem with the emergency fuel shut-off valves.
The vessel was reinspected April 22, but there are no details of the result in available records. The vessel has been cited for similar minor violations since 1990, records show.
The charter industry in Garibaldi, population 1,000, is a major part of the local economy.
"It's a fishing village," said Sherri Sheldon, an employee at the Garibaldi Chamber of Commerce. In addition to the commercial-fishing boats, there are at least 20 local charter-fishing boats.
Scott Howard, of Strike Zone Fishing Charters in Westminster Bay, about 150 miles south of Garibaldi, said he canceled charter trips he had scheduled yesterday because of conditions.
A minus-2-foot low tide at Tillamook Bay was at 7:44 a.m. yesterday. That's when water conditions are often rough, Howard said.
The Coast Guard said it sent three helicopters and two lifeboats to the mouth of the bay to search for survivors.
By midmorning, one body pulled from the water had been brought to the Tillamook Coast Guard station, said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Paul Painter. The wreckage of the boat washed ashore along the jetty.
The area, known as the Tillamook Bay Bar, is treacherous, with high waves and swirling currents, Painter said. An excursion boat capsized there last summer, but nobody was killed, he said.
Tillamook County Sheriff Todd Anderson said a boat-accident reconstruction group had arrived at the scene to observe the condition of the boat and take statements from survivors. The National Transportation Safety Board also sent a team to investigate.
Kent said there has been considerable shoaling — buildup of sand and silt — at the mouth of the jetty in recent years, and that it had not been dredged recently. That can increase surf and wave size at the bar.
Seattle Times reporters Ray Rivera, Sarah Anne Wright, Pamela Sitt, Justin Mayo and Steve Miletich contributed to this report.
Material from The Associated Press, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times is included in this report.