A longline fishing vessel that ran aground near Kukui Point on the Big Island broke in half, but all fuel has been removed from the vessel, Coast Guard officials said yesterday.

"The bow is sunk, but with a foot to a foot-and-a-half protruding above the water," said Petty Officer Michael De Nyse, a Coast Guard spokesman. "The stern is on the rocks."

The Seven Stars, a 69-foot commercial fishing boat, lost power, drifted inside the breakers and ran aground about 7 miles north of Hilo, near Kukui Point in Onomea Bay shortly before 5 a.m. Friday.

The crew set off a beacon, and Big Island firefighters went out to assist.

They rescued five crew members who were still aboard, but being tossed about, as the vessel crashed against the rocks, said Fire Capt. Clarence Young.

One man had fallen overboard and was pulled from the ocean by helicopter, he said.

The fire department secured the area until officials from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Coast Guard arrived to investigate the accident and determine whether there had been any hazardous spills.

De Nyse said that as of noon yesterday, a light sheen was visible on the water that was "not cleanable," but all fuel had been removed from the vessel.

Kwang Myong, the Honolulu-based company that owns Seven Stars, had hired PEMCO to remove the 700 gallons of diesel fuel aboard the boat and to salvage the vessel, De Nyse said.

The wreck is no longer considered an emergency, and the Coast Guard has concluded its involvement, De Nyse said.

Reach Karen Blakeman at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.