Several die in Alaskan shipwreck

Coast guards dispatched a cutter to the scene

Four members of a fishing boat crew are confirmed dead after it sank off the Alaskan coast in high seas and a fifth member is missing, US coast guards say.

The Alaska Ranger's other 42 crew members were rescued after it began taking on water around 0300 (1100 GMT), 120 miles (190km) west of Dutch Harbor.

The survivors were picked up by a coast guard ship and another fishing boat, the Associated Press reports.

A C-130 aircraft remained in the area to search for the missing person.

The 180-foot (55-m) fishing boat, which was based in Seattle, had taken on water after losing control of its rudder.

At the time, it was in seas up to eight feet (2.4 metres) high with winds of up to 25 knots, Alaska Public Radio Network reports, adding that this is "said to be rough conditions for life rafts".

In an early statement, the US Coast Guard said all 47 crew members had taken to rafts.

Two Coast Guard helicopters were used to pluck crew members to safety, AP reports.

The stricken vessel's sister ship, the Alaska Warrior, has been helping to ferry the survivors to Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island where an ambulance has been requested to be on stand-by, the agency adds.

"I figure there's quite a bit of hypothermia going on," harbour duty officer Chuck Harvey was quoted as saying.