The incident happened in waters near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco as a boar carrying mostly family members as part of a memorial service
One person died, three are missing and 16 were rescued near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco as family members were transported as part of a memorial service.
A three-deck pontoon vessel was found almost fully submerged in waters off San Francisco when emergency services arrived at the scene yesterday afternoon. The motor was still running and leaking fuel, San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said.
The boat was carrying mostly family members as part of a memorial service authorities said as they continued searching for the missing people in open ocean into the evening. The search, taking place on the western side of the Golden Gate Bridge, involved divers, helicopters and vessels.
Two people were initially believed to be missing but this increased to three after authorities spoke to witnesses. “Right now we are in full rescue mode,” Mr Crispen said, adding that three people who suffered injuries falling from the boat were taken to a hospital and were expected to be released on Tuesday night.
Footage of the scene showed rescue boats deployed to the scene of the submerged vessel. The incident was initially reported as a fire but Mr Crispen explained the fire service doesn’t “have any evidence of that”.
The person who died was still responsive when they were pulled out of the water but later passed away. A dog onboard also died.
All those rescued were taken to Gashouse Cove Marina, a small craft harbour in San Francisco. Alcatraz Island, once a federal prison infamously inescapable due to the strong ocean currents and cold Pacific waters that surround it, is now a tourist destination attracting over one million visits per year.
It is located in San Francisco Bay about a mile (about 1.6km) north of the city’s shoreline, in an often windy area that attracts sailboats and other recreational vessels. Aaron Anfinson, captain of the Bass-Tub, told the San Francisco Chronicle his boat was carrying guests toward the Golden Gate Bridge in “pretty windy, a little choppy” waters.
A man on a smaller vessel then flagged them down and alerted them to a pontoon boat which appeared to be on fire in the middle of the bay. By the time the Bass-Tub reached it, the flames were out, but the pontoon was sinking.
Some people were already in the water while others remained aboard, Mr Anfinson said, adding that they tried to hand out life jackets to the passengers. One woman’s head was injured.
“We figured we would get her first,” Anfinson said. A deckhand lowered a swim ladder and threw a life ring into the water to help pull her aboard.
“It was scary,” Anfinson said. “I don’t want to see anybody in that situation.”
Fire lieutenant Mariano Elias said the vessel, described as a “pontoon pleasure boat,” was about 600 yards (about 550 meters) from Alcatraz and the emergency call came in just after 3.30pm. Crispen said the vessel was believed to have launched near the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco.
A person who answered the phone there said the club did not have any information on what happened. The Coast Guard and Oakland police also helped in the rescue, Lt Elias said.
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