Four rescued after seiner capsizes near Valdez

A 40-foot purse seiner, the Auriga, capsized Monday near Valdez, the U.S. Coast Guard reports.

The four crewmen climbed aboard the Auriga's skiff and the good Samaritan vessel Cornelia Marie rescued them, the Coast Guard says.

The Auriga was fishing in the vicinity of Eaglek Bay when a storm approached from the southeast.

"The crew ceased fishing operations and prepared for the storm but a large wave reportedly caused the Auriga to capsize," the Coast Guard says. "The Auriga remains capsized and partially submerged in the vicinity of Unakwik Inlet."

The boat had about 18,000 pounds of fish aboard.

State records indicate the Auriga, a fiberglass Beck built in 1980, belongs to Thomas Lopez.