Daniel Lurie said one person was killed, two were missing and 16 were rescued after a pontoon boat sank near Alcatraz Island on Tuesday. The boat was about 600 yards from the island when the incident happened, leaving 19 people aboard to be accounted for.
Of the 16 rescued, 13 were safe on shore Tuesday and three were receiving medical treatment at a San Francisco hospital. The US coast guard said search-and-rescue efforts were ongoing Tuesday afternoon.
Daniel Lurie and Dean Crispen
Lurie gave the figures in a press conference. San Francisco fire chief Dean Crispen said there was no indication of a blaze, after initial reports indicated a fire had broken out on board.
San Francisco fire Lt Mariano Elias described the vessel as a pontoon pleasure boat. KTVU Fox 2 captured video of a red boat partially submerged in the water, and live video from the scene showed a man and a woman wrapped in blankets and sitting near an ambulance.
Alcatraz Island response
The location put the incident close to a place that draws millions of visitors every year to see the now-shuttered prison. That made the rescue response immediate and visible, with crews working while the coast guard kept the search open through Tuesday afternoon.
The unresolved point is what caused the boat to sink. The fire report adds a second layer of uncertainty, but Crispen’s remarks narrowed the scene to a sinking vessel without signs of a blaze.
