The U.S. Coast Guard will suspend its search at sunset Wednesday for the three missing individuals aboard the vessel that capsized near Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay the day before, the agency announced.
After searching for 24 continuous hours, U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Jarod Toczko said at a Wednesday news conference that rescue crews have “completely saturated the search area,” covering 950 squared nautical miles and searching more than 1,700 miles in track lines. Crews have used rescue technologies, including thermal imaging and tide prediction, while accounting for currents and weather conditions, Toczko said.
“Despite that extensive effort, we have been unsuccessful at locating any survivors in the search area,” said Toczko. “Suspending an active search is one of the most difficult things we do as Coast Guard commanders. I don’t take that responsibility lightly at all.”
Toczko said crews would continue to search vigilantly until sundown.
It is a high possibility that the three missing individuals were trapped inside the enclosed main deck or lower deck, which could be determined in the investigation, according to Toczko. In survivor debriefs, passengers told the Coast Guard that people were on the main deck when the boat was sailing.
Memorial cruise struck by a wave
The tragedy began on Tuesday afternoon when a privately-owned “pleasure craft” vessel filled with 20 close friends and family sailed out of the St. Francis Yacht Club to Angel Island. San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said they were on the boat for a memorial.
On the way back from Angel Island and nearly 600 yards from Alcatraz Island, Toczko said it appears that the 49-foot three-tier cabin cruiser was hit with a wave, lost stability and quickly rolled over to the right front side of the boat. This caused many people to fall over and become disoriented.
At approximately 3:37 p.m., several 911 callers reported the vessel was in distress, capsizing and releasing smoke, which was actually misidentified steam. Multiple public safety agencies including the Coast Guard, as well as police and fire departments from San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond and Tiburon, responded with ground, air and water assets.
Upon arrival at the scene, the vessel was found with two stories of the boat submerged under the water, before it fully sank beneath the surface.
Among the 20 people aboard, 17 people were rescued from the water Tuesday while three remain missing. Of the 17 recovered individuals, three were transported to the emergency room and one was pronounced dead after requiring immediate life-saving measures.
The deceased passenger was identified by the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office as Clifford Boisa, 79, of Sutter County.
The three people in the emergency room — one of whom was driving the boat — sustained non-life-threatening injuries, have since been released and “are doing OK,” Crispen said. Crispen also confirmed that a dog died aboard the vessel.
‘Your actions saved lives’
According to Toczko, there were life jackets on the boat, and some of the rescued people were wearing them. It is not clear if Boisa was wearing a jacket at the time of the boat’s capsizing.
“I’d also like to recognize today the good Samaritans that were on scene,” Toczko said. “Those good Samaritans called this distress case in initially, made us aware of it and then rescued people from the water. You all saved lives. Your actions saved lives.”
Toczko said among the first of reports was a fisherman and kiteboarder who noticed the distressed vessel. After reporting the sinking boat, they immediately started to rescue passengers, with one even helping four or five people into their sail.
“Those good Samaritans called this distress case in initially, made us aware of it and then rescued people from the water. You all saved lives. Your actions saved lives.”
Jarod Toczko, U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port
The Coast Guard was able to locate the last position of the vessel but does not currently have the exact location of it. As currents push and pull the water, vessels do not sink directly downward, Toczko said.
As for the possible recovery of the vessel, that would be overseen by the police department. However, SFPD Commander Brien Hoo said locating the boat must come before discussing the feasibility of lifting it back to the surface. Upon locating the boat, an underwater drone will determine the feasibility of lifting it, which depends on how deep the boat has sunk, Hoo said.
According to Hoo, safely recovering the boar could be difficult, especially because a rescue operation to this extent hasn’t happened “as long as I can remember.”
Additionally, Toczko said if the vessel sinks below 120 feet, it will be “extremely difficult” for dive teams to locate it.
