A news excerpt describing the Alaska rescue effort going on yesterday and today:

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The Coast Guard had been struggling to help the 738-foot freighter, the Selendang Ayu, since Tuesday when it began drifting after its main engine broke down. But 25-foot swells and 30-knot winds hampered their effort.

A tug boat had attached a line to the freighter on Tuesday evening, securing it for 12 hours. But then the line broke and the vessel resumed its path to the Unalaska Island shore.

The crew of the Selendang Ayu dropped anchor when it reached shallow water, but it was lost in the rough seas after just a half hour.

The crew later dropped its other anchor, which for a while held the freighter four-fifths of a mile from shore, Olson said.

Sometime around 6 p.m. yesterday, the captain of the freighter requested the remaining crew member be evacuated from the vessel, as the anchor had begun to give way and the freighter had started to flood.

Eight were on board, after 18 had been previously evacuated.

The Coast Guard helicopter crashed into the sea soon after picking up crew members, leaving behind the captain and a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. They were later rescued by the second helicopter. Around 7:15 p.m., the freighter broke in half.

The Selendang Ayu is a single-deck bulk carrier built in China in 1998. It is owned by IMC Transworld, a subsidiary of IMC Group
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