Coast Guard: 4 dead, 1 missing in fishing vessel's sinking

(CNN) - Four crewmembers of a fishing vessel sinking off the coast of Alaska died and a fifth was unaccounted for Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.

The Seattle, Washington-based Alaska Ranger began sinking about 2:50 a.m. (6:50 a.m. ET) with 47 people on board, said Chief Petty Officer Barry Lane, a Coast Guard spokesman. Four of those had been confirmed dead by late morning, he said.

The 180-foot processing trawler was about 120 miles (190 km) west of Dutch Harbor, in the remote Aleutian Islands, when the crew reported being "overwhelmed by water" and abandoned ship, said Lt. Eric Eggen, another Coast Guard spokesman.