Three fishermen died after a commercial fishing boat, the Mary B II, capsized while crossing the Yaquina Bay Bar near Newport, Oregon, officials say.
Initial reports said the boat may have appeared on the Discovery Channel’s, Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove, but a spokesman for the network told New York Post the boat was never on the show.
US Coast Guard crews battled 12 to 14-foot seas as they searched for the three men aboard the commercial crab fishing boat just after 10pm (5am AEST) Tuesday, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard reportedly was escorting the boat as it crossed the bay before it capsized, TMZ reported.
Rescuers pulled James Lacey, 48, of South Toms River, New Jersey, out of the water, but he was pronounced dead at a hospital. Early Wednesday, crews found Joshua Porter, 50, of Toledo, Oregon, dead near Nye Beach.
They later located the boat’s skipper, Stephen Biernacki, 50, of Barnegat Township, New Jersey, dead with the boat, which ran aground on the beach near the north side of the Yaquina Bay North Jetty, according to the Oregon State Police.
“We did everything we could. Unfortunately, it was just a tragic outcome and our hearts and thoughts are with the family and friends of the crew,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read told KPIC-TV.
#USCG Air Facility Newport and Station Yaquina Bay boat crews responding to 3 fishermen in the water after commercial fishing vessel Mary B II capsizes while crossing Yaquina Bay Bar. Crews battling 12 to 14-foot seas. pic.twitter.com/vmyB2K6J8b
— USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) January 9, 2019
The end of a brutal winter crabbing season is finally in sight, TONIGHT at 9p on @Discovery. #DeadliestCatch pic.twitter.com/jFJksGhPmI
— Deadliest Catch (@DeadliestCatch) August 28, 2018
This article originally appeared in New York Post and was reproduced with permission
