It’s been reported that former Deadliest Catch star Dean Gribble Jr. survived and was rescued from a tragic boat capsizing incident in Alaska, that may have claimed the lives of five others. According to the Associated Press, a crabbing vessel known as the Scandies Rose overturned due to unsafe weather conditions, while it was hauling many loads of crabbing pots for the winter season. In addition to Gribble, one other individual was confirmed to have survived the accident.
PEOPLE reports that warnings of strong winds and heavy freezing spray were said to have been issued, but the Scandies Rose continued its departure from Dutch Harbor and sailed south.
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The last time the 130-foot boat was last seen about 170 miles southwest of Kodiak Island. It sank around 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
Former Deadliest Catch Star Rescued After Fishing Boat Capsized, 5 Others Feared Dead https://t.co/ApeI0Ti8qu
— People (@people) January 3, 2020
The Coast Guard began search and rescue efforts after receiving a distress call that was sent out from the ship, finally arriving on the scene around 2 a.m. Wednesday. It was at this time that they began to search for survivors.
In addition to boats, the first responders also used helicopters and planes to search for survivors , As they scanned the area, rescuers suddenly took notice of a very faint light that turned out to be illuminating from a life raft. This is where they located the two survivors, which included Gribble.
Deadliest Catch kicked off its 15th season in April 2019, though Gribble is not currently part of the show’s cast.
Ahead of the new season, Deadliest Catch Captains Sig Hansen and Jake Anderson spoke with PopCulture.com’s Anna Rumer exclusively, sharing details about their journeys on the ocean, and also talking candidly about how high the stakes have become.
“It’s a pain, because it’s first come, first serve,” Hansen explained of how all the king crab they were search for were rumored to be gathering in one 800-square-mile area.
Anderson had a lot riding on the catch, financially, so he found the situation particularly tense. He had a plan to become part owner of the Saga, but he needed to earn the money for his buy-in quickly.
“It’s a tough time to buy into the boat, especially because you’re not gonna make a ton of money if you don’t do it right,” he shared. “We didn’t even know how much money was to be made … it was really high stakes.”
At this time, the series’ network, Discovery, has not issued a comment on the capsizing incident.
