One person died, three were missing and 16 others were rescued by authorities after a three-deck pontoon ship sank off the coast of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay on Tuesday, US officials said. A dog also died when the boat capsized.
The island is home to the famous former Alcatraz federal prison, which now serves as a tourist destination. The prison was notorious for being impenetrable due to the strong ocean currents and cold Pacific waters that surrounded it.
Alcatraz Island is about 1 mile (1.6 km) off the coast in the bay.
Multidimensional search effort continues
Search and rescue teams remained busy searching for the missing people throughout the night.
Local police and firefighters are working with the U.S. Coast Guard to search for survivors. Planes, boats and helicopters are being deployed in the operation.
San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said in a video posted online by the city mayor that responders were dispatched to the scene around 3:35 p.m. local time (1035 GMT) on Tuesday due to reports of “a boat on fire about 600 yards from Alcatraz.”
Although there were reports that the boat caught fire, Crispen said, “We have no evidence of that now.”
Crispen rescue workers found that the three-deck pontoon ship had capsized and was almost completely submerged in water. The boat’s engine was still running and fuel was leaking.
One dead person was found at the scene, rescue teams are attempting resuscitation.
Official: Overturned ship was a privately owned ‘pontoon pleasure boat’
Lt. Elias Mariano of the San Francisco Fire Department told the AFP news agency that rescuers were “using thermal imaging, tide forecasting and modeling to help direct search efforts.”
Mariano called the overturned vessel a “pontoon pleasure boat.” The boat was privately owned and it is unclear whether it was headed to Alcatraz at the time of the sinking.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
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