Daily Sitka Sentinel staff

The Coast Guard today identified two crew members who died in an accident Sunday aboard a freight barge as 21-year-old Ben Fowler of Sitka, and 28-year-old Sidney Mohorovich of Washington state.

U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Stanley Fields, commander of Sector Southeast Alaska, offered his condolences and said the Coast Guard is conducting a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.

“This is a heartbreaking reminder that confined spaces on vessels can contain extremely dangerous, invisible hazards,” he said. “The Coast Guard is committed to a thorough investigation to understand what happened and prevent a tragedy like this from occurring again.”

Coast Guard Arctic District said the "fatal confined space incident” occurred aboard the barge Waynehoe while it was moored in Skowl Arm, 25 miles northwest of Ketchikan.

Rescue crews from the Coast Guard and fire department in Ketchikan responded after the crew of the tugboat Chukchi Sea reported at 9:14 a.m. Sunday that they had lost contact with four individuals who were in a confined space on the Waynehoe.

Two of the four crew members were recovered and responsive on Sunday. The third crew member was recovered Sunday and later declared deceased. The fourth was unaccounted for on the barge on Sunday; today the Coast Guard reported that he was recovered deceased on Tuesday, after the barge had been towed to the Ketchikan area.

The Coast Guard worked partner agencies in Ketchikan on Tuesday to access the confined space on the barge in a safe manner, and find the crew member who was unaccounted for, USCG said.

The South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department of Ketchikan helped the Coast Guard respond to the emergency on Sunday. Its chief, Steve Rydeen, told the Sentinel that the Coast Guard search and rescue boat received the call to the barge, and called the STVFD fire hall.

A paramedic and two EMTs from STVFD went with the Coast Guard aboard the USCG vessel on Sunday; Rydeen said the department provides limited medical care for Coast Guard search and rescue cases.

The barge was moored in McKenzie Inlet within Skowl Arm on the east side of Prince of Wales Island.

Ketchikan North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jerry Kiffer said the barge is operated by the Bellingham-based Hamilton Marine Construction.

A Boyer Towing vessel took the barge to Ward Cove, north of Ketchikan, Kiffer said.

The 92-foot-long tugboat Chukchi Sea, owned by Hamilton Marine Construction, was returned to the Ketchikan harbor by its owner on Monday.

• This article originally appeared in the Daily Sitka Sentinel.