One dead, three missing after boat capsizes near Alcatraz
A memorial gathering turned tragic Tuesday afternoon when a pontoon boat carrying 20 people capsized in rough waters near Alcatraz Island, leaving one man dead and three others missing.
San Francisco Fire Department officials said they received a distress call at 15:37 local time. A marine unit arriving on scene found a man struggling in the water and performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead upon reaching shore.
The vessel, identified later as a 50‑foot cabin cruiser named Volare, was hosting mostly family members for what witnesses described as a memorial service. Thirteen passengers made it safely back to shore, while three others were injured and taken to hospital in stable condition.
Witness accounts painted a scene of panic as the boat began taking on water and overturned. Longshoreman Justin Marceline, who helped pull survivors from the bay alongside fisherman Mike Montoya, described “complete chaos” as exhausted passengers flailed in the water. “Every time we had to grab a person, each one of them was either frantic or too weak to hold on,” he told Reuters.
Initial reports suggested a fire on board, but fire officials later confirmed there was no evidence of flames. Instead, rough seas and flooding appear to have caused the vessel to capsize.
The US Coast Guard joined fire crews in a search and rescue operation that continued into the evening, combing the waters around Alcatraz for the three missing passengers.
Source: BBC
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