GARIBALDI, Ore. (AP) -- A large wave flipped over a charter fishing boat carrying 19 people off the northern Oregon coast Saturday, killing at least nine, the Coast Guard said.
Rescue crews called off the search for the two people still missing at 9 p.m. Saturday, but planned to resume at dawn on Sunday, Coast Guard Chief Steven McAloney said. He said there was little chance the two would be found alive, because of frigid water temperatures. The search took place near a long, rocky jetty at the mouth of Tillamook Bay, an area known for high waves and swirling currents.
Eight survivors -- a female and seven males ages 13 to 48 -- were brought to Tillamook County General Hospital suffering from hypothermia and needing oxygen because of near drowning. All but two were released, and one of those still in the hospital was there just for observation, officials said.
``They hit a wave wrong and the boat capsized, that's what I was told,'' nursing supervisor Heather Scovell said. ``They're cold, in shock.''
The 32-foot Taki Tooo capsized in 15-foot breaking surf as it sailed out of the bay past a 1,000-yard jetty shortly after 7 a.m., said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Paul Painter.
Some of the survivors reached shore after swimming hundreds of yards, while firefighters found others bobbing in the shallow surf, Garibaldi Fire Chief Mike Sheldon said.
``There were people floating around in the water and they were on the beach. Some of our personnel went in (the ocean) after them,'' Sheldon said.
Coast Guard Master Chief Lars Kent said other people on the beach, including the pastor of a local church, also helped pull people from the water.
Earl Werneke Jr., 29, of Rockaway, said he brought out three bodies and one young boy who was alive. ``There was one I couldn't get to, I think he's one of the missing,'' he said.
Werneke said he and other civilian volunteers ended up doing most of the rescuing. ``I think all and all, it was a weak effort here. We should be better prepared in this area,'' he said.
Kent said that although the boat was fully equipped with life vests, none of those found dead were wearing them. Some of those who survived were wearing the vests, including some who may have grabbed one after the boat flipped over and the devices were floating on the water, he added.
The boat's owner, Mick Buell, watched from shore as it sank about three miles from its home port.
``A large wave hit the side of the Taki Tooo and it capsized, just swamped,'' said Buell, who runs Garibaldi Charters, a sport fishing company.
The boat flipped so quickly that the passengers probably didn't have time to jump clear, Buell said in a telephone interview.
The survivors are: Tyler Bohnet of Canby; Mark, David and Chris Hamlett of Portland; Brian Loil of Vancouver, Wash.; Richard Forsman of Vancouver, Wash.; Dale Brown of Portland and Buell's daughter, Tamara Buell of Cloverdale.
The nine people who died are: Dennis Tipton and Kathy Corley, both of Ukiah; Steve Albus of Ephrata, Wash.; Sigmud Bohnet, from Florida; Edward Loil of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Larry Frick of Spokane, Wash.; Terry Galloway of Portland; Richard Hidalgo of Green Bay, Wis. and the boat's captain, Doug Davis of Garibaldi.
The two still missing are Barry Sundberg of Cheney, Wash., and Tim Albus of Madras, the Tillamook County Sheriff's Office said Saturday night.
Reached at home late Saturday, Steve Albus' wife, Sally, said ``we all hurt really bad, because he was loving. He gave us a lot of strength, but the Lord's with us, and we'll get through this.''
Tim Albus is her brother-in-law.
A relative of Davis who answered his home phone in tears Saturday said, ``He's not here. He died this morning.''
The reaction in Spokane, Wash., was also of shock.
Frick's son, also named Larry, said his family, ``can't really believe this happened. He was with four of his best friends, and they all died, too.''
In the Spokane suburb of Cheney, Sundberg's family members had gathered to await any news.
``The family here is just looking for more answers as to what happened,'' said Rick Hoard, the pastor of the Hayford Community Church, where Sundberg's daughter worships.
Buell said he considered Davis an experienced skipper.
Jeff Folkeme, owner of the Garibaldi Marina, a setting-off point for pleasure boat excursions, said he saw the Taki Tooo sailing past his dockside office Saturday morning.
``Everybody was all happy and jolly. They were going to go fishing,'' he said. ``It was a normal day.''
The Coast Guard sent three helicopters and two lifeboats to the mouth of the bay, 60 miles west of Portland, to search for survivors, said Coast Guard Cmdr. Patrick Brennan.
The wreckage of the boat washed ashore along the jetty.
The area, known as the Tillamook Bay Bar, is treacherous, with high waves and swirling currents, Painter said. An excursion boat capsized there last summer, but nobody was killed, he said.
With 50-degree water, Brennan said, the longest anyone could likely survive in that part of the ocean would be four to eight hours.
Tillamook County Sheriff Todd Anderson said a boat accident reconstruction group, composed of members of sheriff's offices throughout Oregon, had arrived at the scene to observe the condition of the boat and take statements from survivors.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also sending a team to investigate the accident.
Kent said there has been considerable shoaling _ buildup of sand and silt _ at the mouth of the jetty in recent years, and that it had not been dredged recently. That can increase surf and wave size at the bar.
