One dead and three missing after boat sinks near Alcatraz

One person died and three others were missing after a privately owned boat carrying 20 people sank near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, US officials said. Local fire and police teams, the US Coast Guard, helicopters, planes and rescue boats were involved in the response.

Fire Chief Dean Crispen said rescuers first responded to a report of a boat on fire about 600 yards off Alcatraz at around 3:35 pm (1035 GMT), according to a short Instagram video posted by San Francisco's mayor. When rescuers reached the vessel, it had capsized. Crispen said rescuers began CPR on the person who later died, took that person to shore, and the person was declared dead.

The fire department initially reported that two people were missing, but later raised the number to three, citing witness statements. San Francisco Fire Department Lieutenant Elias Mariano said the search for the missing people would continue through the night. The department said rescue teams were using thermal imaging, tide prediction and modeling to guide the search.

Mariano said the boat was a privately owned cabin cruiser motorboat from Stockton, California. Authorities did not know whether it was headed to Alcatraz, the former prison site and tourist attraction in San Francisco Bay. The Los Angeles Times reported that at least one person was severely injured in the water when rescuers arrived. Authorities confirmed that the other 16 passengers were rescued.