Coast Guard rescues five people from tugboat in distress

The Coast Guard rescued five crew members from a tugboat towing a 333-foot barge in rough seas off the Washington coast Friday.

Rescuers made it to their location, about ten miles off the coast of La Push, after high winds and waves battered their tug, named “Luther.”

Around 4:15 p.m. the tug lost power and started taking on water.

The crew called out for help and the Coast Guard dispatched a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Quillayute River and an MH-60 Jayhawk crew from its Air Station in Astoria.

An emergency tug, the “Lauren Foss,” also headed out to assist the distressed vessel.

After rescue crews arrived, the massive barge started drifting toward the Luther.

So the crew quickly evacuated onto the motor lifeboat.

KIRO-7 TV reported one person fell into the sea as crew members were boarding the lifeboat, but that person was quickly pulled on board.

The Lauren Foss, the rescue tug, struggled to retrieve the Luther, after one of its lines became tangled in its propeller.

KIRO-7 reports the Canadian Coast Guard also arrived to help, sending out its ship the “Atlantic Raven.”  Other Coast Guard ships also assisted with the recovery.

Crews from several boats worked as a team to tow the Luther to safe harbor in Port Angeles.

With help from several boats, To prevent the Luther from sinking, crews released the concrete barge.  The barge was loaded with 10,000 pounds of cement mix and 1,200 gallons of diesel fuel.

Officials say the loose barge is a pollution threat and a could also be danger to other boats in the area.

The Coast Guard issued a warning to other vessels to watch for the barge, after crews lost sight of it.

It is working with the Canadian Coast Guard, commercial partners, the Makah Tribe and the Washington State Department of Ecology to bring the barge back to port.