Five fishermen were plucked from the beach on Sitkinak Island where they had gone after their vessel began taking on water on Thursday.

The crew of the 58-foot Kodiak Isle abandoned their vessel in the early morning hours of Thursday and climbed into their life raft after donning survival suits.

The five survivors eventually drifted ashore, where they released a flare as a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter closed on their position. The men were safely hoisted aboard the helicopter.

The United States Coast Guard initially coordinated their rescue efforts after receiving a report from the fishermen at 12:07 am on Thursday. The fishermen told the Coast Guard at that time, that they had struck a rock and was taking on water.

The Coast Guard watchstanders immediately issued an urgent marine information broadcast, then a short time later, directed the launch of the helicopter crew.

“The fishermen took the proper steps to help ensure their safety during this emergency situation,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Lauren Brady, watchstander, Coast Guard Sector Anchorage. “They immediately alerted us that they had an emergency and needed help. They then put on survival suits and entered their life raft with flares and an emergency location beacon, which allowed the helicopter crew to quickly locate them.”

According to the Coast Guard, the vessel was still afloat at 2:30 am when the helicopter departed the scene to return to Kodiak.

The crew reported that the vessel was carrying approximately 1,000 gallons of deisel aboard when she struck the rock. The Coast Guard did a fly-over on Thursday to assess the area for polllution concerns.