Alcatraz boat sinking leaves 1 dead, 3 missing in San Francisco Bay

One person died and three others remained missing Tuesday night after a 49-foot cabin cruiser carrying 20 adults took on water and capsized in rough seas between Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge, authorities said.

Sixteen people survived. Three were hospitalized in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, while Coast Guard and San Francisco fire crews continued searching through the night with boats, aircraft, thermal imaging and tide-modeling technology.

The vessel, identified as the Volare, was documented out of Stockton and had departed from the St. Francis Yacht Club. Most of those aboard were relatives or knew one another and had gathered for a memorial, San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said.

Initial callers reported what appeared to be smoke, but San Francisco police officers who first reached the boat determined it was steam. Authorities found no evidence of a fire. The cause of the capsizing remained under investigation.

Three people remained missing Tuesday night after the cabin cruiser Volare capsized near Alcatraz Island, San Francisco fire officials said.

Authorities initially believed 19 people were aboard but revised the total to 20 after interviewing witnesses. Sixteen people survived, and one man died after being pulled from the water and given CPR.

Three survivors were hospitalized in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries and were expected to be released Tuesday night. Thirteen uninjured survivors were receiving assistance from the city’s Human Services Agency and the American Red Cross at Fort Mason.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said search teams were continuing to look for three missing people Tuesday night using thermal imaging, tide predictions and computer modeling.

The response included the San Francisco fire and police departments, the U.S. Coast Guard, Oakland and Richmond police, Tiburon firefighters and the Southern Marin Fire Protection District. People aboard private vessels also joined the rescue.

“The work our first responders have done so far today has been nothing short of heroic,” Lurie wrote in a social media post.

Early 911 callers reported that the vessel appeared to be on fire, but San Francisco police officers who first reached the boat determined that the apparent smoke was steam, according to the Fire Department.

Responders found no evidence of a fire or explosion, Chief Crispen said.

A fishing-boat captain who joined the rescue said he saw what appeared to be flames from a distance. Officials did not explain what produced the steam or why it appeared to be smoke or fire.

The vessel that capsized near Alcatraz was a 49-foot cabin cruiser named Volare, documented out of Stockton, the San Francisco Fire Department said.

Officials described it as a three-deck vessel about 50 feet long. It had departed from the St. Francis Yacht Club before taking on water and overturning in rough seas.

San Francisco police Marine 3 was the first public-safety boat to arrive. Officers found multiple people needing rescue and one man in severe distress. They began CPR and brought him to Gashouse Cove, where he was pronounced dead, Crispen said.

At an 8:30 p.m. press conference, Crispen said a third person remains missing after a boat capsized in the Bay. 

Most people on board were family, Crispen said.

Three survivors who were taken to the hospital with injuries were in stable condition as of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and were expected to be released tonight, Crispen said.

Thirteen passengers who were not injured were being treated by the Human Services Agency and the Red Cross at the assistance center at Fort Mason.

When San Francisco police maritime officers arrived at the scene, they saw a man in “severe distress,” put him on a rescue boat and brought him to Gas House Cove, where he was pronounced dead, Crispen said.

Officials did not release his name or other identifying information about him.

Crispen also said he did not know the cause of the capsize, only that the boat was in “rough seas,” and took on water after being hit by a wave. The boat then overturned in the Bay.

Most of the adults aboard the Volare were relatives or knew one another and had gathered for a memorial, Fire Chief Dean Crispen said.

“Our understanding was there was some kind of memorial service that they were engaging in,” Crispen said.

Authorities had not released the identities of the person who died or the three people who remained missing.

Sixteen people survived after the Volare capsized near Alcatraz, officials said. Three were taken to a hospital with stable, non-life-threatening injuries and were expected to be released Tuesday night.

Thirteen uninjured survivors were taken to an assistance center at Fort Mason, where the city’s Human Services Agency and the American Red Cross were providing support.

One person pulled from the water required CPR and later died. A dog aboard the vessel also died.

Shortly before 7 p.m., a pair of survivors exited an assistance center set up at Fort Mason, one barefoot and carrying a Red Cross bag. A third survivor later walked out alone with a dazed expression on his face. 

All three declined to comment. 

Emergency and fire officials had earlier established the reunification center for survivors and their families.

Aaron Anfinson, captain of the Bass-Tub, said he and a deckhand were carrying 32 guests toward the Golden Gate Bridge when a man aboard a smaller vessel flagged them down near Fort Mason.

The man pointed toward a boat in the middle of the Bay that appeared to be on fire, Anfinson said. By the time the Bass-Tub arrived, the apparent flames were gone, but the boat was sinking and people remained aboard.

“We tried to start to hand out life jackets to them,” he said.

Other passengers were already in the water, including several holding onto a kite surfer who may have been the first person to reach them, Anfinson said.

One woman had suffered a head injury.

“We figured we would get her first,” he said.

A deckhand lowered a swim ladder and threw a life ring into the water to pull her aboard.

“It was scary,” Anfinson said. “I don’t want to see anybody in that situation.”

“This afternoon, there was a boat that sunk in the San Francisco Bay,” Mayor Daniel Lurie wrote on X. “My thoughts are with that person’s family, and I am hoping for a quick recovery for all who were affected. Multiple agencies continue to search for those who are missing.”

He added, “I am grateful for the swift and dedicated work of all of our first responders. And thank our partners for showing up for San Francisco.”

San Francisco Supervisor Stephen Sherrill called the sinking “just really tragic” and warned that the region’s waters can be hazardous.

Whether surfing at Ocean Beach or boating in San Francisco Bay, “this is not a simple place to be in the water and people should be aware of that,” Sherrill said. “Mother Nature is not to be trifled with.”

Sherrill praised the rescue crews and said city human-services workers and the Red Cross were assisting survivors.

“The response was very fast and robust, and goes to show how lucky we are to have fire and police who can respond so quickly,” he said. “It could have been much worse.”

Richmond police Lt. Joseph England described the water near Alcatraz as “super rough” Tuesday afternoon and estimated swells at 4 to 6 feet.

“The conditions were really choppy out there today,” England said, adding that “sea conditions were very poor.”

The department measured the water temperature at 64.8 degrees. England said the combination of choppy water and cool temperatures made life jackets essential.

Bass-Tub captain Aaron Anfinson independently described the conditions as “pretty windy, a little choppy.”

The San Francisco Fire Department received the emergency call shortly after 3:30 p.m. The boat had departed from the St. Francis Yacht Club before capsizing, authorities said.

Some passengers entered the water without life jackets. Fire officials said most of the reported injuries appeared to have occurred as people fell or were thrown from the boat. No burn injuries were reported.

Three survivors were taken to a hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. Officials said they were expected to be released Tuesday night. Thirteen other survivors were taken to an assistance center at Fort Mason.

A dog aboard the boat also died.

Rescuers brought survivors ashore near Fort Mason, where paramedics treated people wrapped in blankets. A reunification center was established nearby for survivors and their families.

The boat remained partially above water for a time before sinking in roughly 120 feet of water. Officials said it was leaking fuel and that its motor continued operating for a time after it was submerged.

Private boats joined the rescue. The captain of the Bass-Tub, a San Francisco sportfishing vessel, told the Chronicle that his crew pulled an injured woman from the water. Oakland emergency crews rescued several other passengers, according to preliminary radio traffic.

Officials said wind and tides could carry the missing people east from the site. Divers, helicopters and rescue boats continued searching as belongings from the vessel floated on the surface.

“This search will go on for some time,” a fire official said.

Authorities had not identified the person who died or the three missing people. 

The Coast Guard and San Francisco police were expected to investigate the sinking.

Conditions can change dramatically over short distances in San Francisco Bay, longtime sailor Steve Jones said.

“It’s extremely variable,” Jones said. “It can be beautiful in one part of the bay and horrible in another at the same moment. One area can be much rougher while another is much calmer.”

Jones recalled racing a 30-foot sailboat around Alcatraz in waves he estimated at 6 to 10 feet.

Richmond police Lt. Joseph England estimated Tuesday’s swells at 4 to 6 feet and described the sea conditions as “very poor.” Bass-Tub captain Aaron Anfinson described the water as “pretty windy, a little choppy.”

Authorities said shifting winds and tides complicated the search for the three missing passengers.

Investigators will likely examine whether life jackets were available and when passengers began using them, longtime boating expert Steve Jones said.

“Absolutely, they should have been wearing life jackets,” Jones said. “If there’s any kind of threat or problem, they need to be worn.”

Fire officials said some passengers entered the water without life jackets. Authorities had not said how many people were wearing flotation devices, how many were aboard or when the emergency became apparent.

Much of the waterfront near Fort Mason remained blocked off Tuesday evening as firefighters gathered near the boat ramp and crews searched for the missing passengers.

The body of the person who died lay beneath a yellow covering near the ramp. Mayor Lurie and other city officials gathered outside Landmark Building A, which was cordoned off with yellow tape.

Michael Barba, Megan Fan Munce, Greg Porter, Stephen Lam and Lucy Hodgman contributed to this report.