One person is dead and two others are missing after a three-deck recreational pontoon boat capsized in San Francisco Bay on Tuesday afternoon near Alcatraz Island, prompting a massive rescue and search operation that involved multiple agencies and vessels.
The 19-person vessel, which authorities believe was launched from the St. Francis Yacht Club, went down approximately 600 yards off Alcatraz around 3:35 p.m. The San Francisco Fire Department initially received a report of a fire on the boat, but officials later found no evidence of flames despite the emergency call.
When first responders arrived on scene, they discovered a chaotic situation with some people already in the water, others still on the rapidly sinking boat, and additional passengers falling into the bay as the vessel went down. Rescue crews from the San Francisco Fire Department, U.S. Coast Guard, and Oakland Police Department immediately launched a coordinated response to pull people from the water.
A total of 16 people were rescued from the water, according to officials. Of those rescued, 13 were reported safe while three others were transported to hospitals for treatment of injuries. All those rescued were taken to Gashouse Cove Marina, a small craft harbor in San Francisco.
One person who was pulled from the water was severely injured and brought to shore, where emergency responders administered CPR. Despite these efforts, the individual was pronounced dead at the scene. The boat’s single dog, which was also aboard, did not survive.
Two people remain missing and unaccounted for. San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said the ongoing search would be extensive and methodical. “We are still conducting an active search of the area. We have 11 vessels on the water conducting that search. We are going to continue for hours to make sure that we find these two missing people, if possible,” Crispen stated.
The search operation involved multiple rescue assets including divers in the water, helicopters overhead conducting aerial searches, and 11 vessels coordinating surface operations. Rescue crews have focused their efforts on areas where survivors typically drift in strong currents. All first responders aboard the 19-person vessel were adults, officials confirmed.
The initial fire report remains unexplained. Crispen explained that while the incident was reported as a fire, first responders found no evidence of an actual blaze. “The boating mishap was initially reported as a fire, but we now don’t have any evidence of that,” he said. Some people sustained injuries from falling into the water, but no burn injuries were reported.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie issued a statement characterizing the operation with urgency. “This is an all-hands-on-deck search and hopefully rescue,” Lurie said. The vessel was described as a recreational pleasure boat, though investigators were still gathering additional information about the exact nature and purpose of the outing.
The incident sent shockwaves through San Francisco as aerial footage captured the vessel disappearing beneath the surface while rescue boats raced toward the location. The scale of the rescue operation reflected both the number of people involved and the challenging conditions in the San Francisco Bay area near the famous island.