Two Dead in Barge Confined Space Accident

This is Cory with the story, here with your quick two-minute update from Anchorage News

today.

Two crew members died Sunday while working in a confined space on a freight barge near

Ketchikan, Alaska.

The victims were identified as been Fowler and Sidney Moharovich.

Their bodies were recovered one on Sunday and the other on Tuesday.

The barge, named Wainho, was mored in Scow Arm about 25 miles northwest of the city.

The trouble started just after 9 a.m. when the crew of the nearby tugboat Chuck Shee

Sea lost contact with the four workers.

That tug crew managed to pull two of them to safety before help arrived.

The U.S. Coast Guard quickly sent a response boat from Ketchikan along with volunteers from

the South Tongue Spire Department.

Those two survivors are now in stable condition and the focus has turned to the human cost

of these jobs.

Several fire chief Jerry Kiffer noted the barge was later docked in Ward Co for further

work.

Coast Guard leaders expressed deep sympathy to the families, calling it a stark reminder

of hidden dangers and tight spaces on vessels.

Officials have not released details on exactly where the crew was working or what caused

the deaths.

The investigation is ongoing to figure out what went wrong and how to stop it from happening

again.

Keep following this as more comes to life from the Coast Guard and local teams.