Unalaska Island, Alaska
Alaskan rescuers this week stopped searching for six shipwrecked sailors who were pitched into icy waters when a helicopter crashed trying to save them. The men had been aboard the Malaysian freighter Selendang Ayu, which ran aground and split in two off Unalaska Island, in the Bering Sea. The Coast Guard helicopter crew survived, and 20 other sailors were rescued. At least 40,000 gallons of the 738-foot vessel’s 500,000 gallons of oil and fuel quickly leaked out near a wildlife refuge full of endangered sea lions and birds. Salvage crews battled violent seas trying to contain the spill, which threatened to become the worst in Alaska since the Exxon Valdez lost 11 million gallons, in 1989.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meatThe Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human bloodUnder the radar Drugging the bugs
