The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting a search and rescue mission after a boat capsized in San Francisco, leaving one person dead and another three missing.
The capsizing incident was initially reported at around 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday. Emergency services rescued 13 people to shore and took three others to a local hospital, where their conditions stabilized.
The service is collaborating with the San Francisco Fire Department and Oakland Police Department after a ship with 20 passengers capsized in San Francisco Bay, near Alcatraz. A dog on board also died.
“This was mostly family members of one another who were on this vessel,” Chief Dean Crispen said in a statement on Tuesday night. “Our understanding was there was some kind of memorial service that they were engaging in. That’s why they were using this particular vessel.
“They were hit by a wave or took on water, and the boat capsized.”
Authorities said the boat was a privately-owned cabin cruiser motorboat from Stockton, Calif. It was discovered roughly 600 yards from Alcatraz, though it is unclear whether that was the intended destination.
‘Complete Chaos’ as 11 Vessels on Guard
Crispen said that the fire department’s marine unit tried to treat the man, who then died at the scene.
“They placed him on their boat, initiated CPR, brought him into Gas House Cove right here, and this individual was declared deceased at that point,” he said.
As for those still missing, Crispen said the Coast Guard was using 11 vessels to conduct a search. The service is also using helicopters and divers to look for the missing individuals, who Crispen said are all adults. He did not disclose whether they are male or female.
There were witness accounts of rough seas that may have affected the boat, he added, and there was no evidence there had been a fire on the vessel.
“The reports we’ve had from witnesses was that there were rough seas and the vessel began to take on water and was turned over in the bay,” Crispen said.
San Francisco Fire Department Lt. Elias Mariano told the AFP news agency the search for those still missing will continue “through the night.”
The department added that rescue teams were using “thermal imaging, tide prediction and modeling to help direct search efforts.”
Longshoreman Justin Marceline, who helped rescue people, told Reuters there was “complete chaos” at the scene.
“Every time we had to grab a person, each one of them—either they were exhausted, or they were frantic and were flailing,” Marceline said.
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