Search continues after Alcatraz ship capsizes
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie shared an update after a boat capsized near Alcatraz Island, leaving one person dead, two missing and 16 people rescued.
A pontoon boat carrying 19 people capsized and sank in San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island on Tuesday, prompting a massive search and rescue operation involving the U.S. Coast Guard, local fire departments, helicopters and civilian vessels, leaving one person dead and two missing.
The Coast Guard initially reported responding to a boat fire near Alcatraz Island and began rescue operations after receiving reports that a boat carrying 19 people was in distress. However, San Francisco authorities later said they found no evidence that a fire had started.
San Francisco Fire Department officials say 16 people were rescued after a boat capsized between Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. As crew members continued to search the bay, one person was confirmed dead and two others were still missing on Tuesday night.
Local television footage showed much of the ship submerged during the rescue operation, Reuters reported. Previous reports said 17 people were pulled from the water.
Boat rescue near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco
Rescue teams are responding to an apparent boat fire near Alcatraz Island off the coast of San Francisco.
Fox – Ktvu
The San Francisco Fire Department received an emergency call just after 3:30 p.m. The pontoon recreational boat left the St. Francis Yacht Club before capsizing, authorities said.
Rescue teams set up a triage area on land and transported survivors to Fort Mason, where some were treated by paramedics. Officials said several people were injured, most likely from falls into the water rather than burns. Officials also said some passengers entered the bay without life jackets.
Divers, helicopters and 11 rescue vessels searched the area into Tuesday evening. Officials said high winds, changing tides and the notoriously difficult conditions around Alcatraz Island were complicating the operation.
“This search will continue for some time,” San Francisco Fire Department officials said at a news conference.
The ship ultimately sank in approximately 120 feet of water and was reportedly leaking fuel. Personal items from the boat could still be seen floating on the water as the crew searched for the missing passengers.
Here’s what we know about the San Francisco Bay incident.
What happened to the boat that capsized near Alcatraz Island?
The emergency occurred around 3:35 p.m. Tuesday when the San Francisco Fire Department received a report of a boat fire approximately 600 yards off the coast of Alcatraz Island. Rescue teams began a full-scale marine fire response, but the first crews to arrive on the scene instead found an overturned three-story pontoon boat in the water.
San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said the police Marine Corps was the first to arrive at the ship.
“Police Marines were the first to arrive on the scene and found an overturned three-decker pontoon boat with one seriously injured patient on board,” Crispen said at a news conference. “They started CPR and immediately transported him to shore, where he was pronounced dead.”
What are authorities saying about the Alcatraz boat rescue operation?
Authorities believe there were 19 people on board.
At one point during the response, authorities reported that 13 survivors were safely ashore, and three others were taken to California Pacific Medical Center for treatment.
“We are still actively searching the area,” Crispen said. “We have 11 vessels at sea carrying out search operations. We will continue the search for several hours to hopefully find the two missing people.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie offered his condolences to the families of the victims and said multiple agencies participated in the rescue effort.
“I would like to express my condolences to the families of those who died,” Lurie said. “This is an all-out search and, hopefully, a rescue.”
Mr. Lurie also thanked the U.S. Coast Guard, San Francisco Police Department, Oakland Police Department, and firefighters for their assistance in the operation.
The search involved 11 rescue ships, divers, helicopters and Marines from multiple agencies, with crews searching the waters between Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. Debris from the boat was seen floating in the bay as rescuers continued to search for the missing passengers.
Reuters contributed to this report.
