SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rescuers were still searching for three people missing after a boat involved in a memorial service sank in the cold, fast-moving waters of San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island, authorities said Wednesday.One person was pulled from the water but later died, and 16 others were rescued Tuesday afternoon after the boat took on water and capsized in what witnesses described as “rough seas,” San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said. A dog on board also died. Search teams were using thermal imaging, tide prediction and modeling to guide their efforts, the department said Wednesday. By Tuesday evening, authorities had been searching the open ocean west of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sudden immersion in water under 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius) can lead to cold water shock, a condition where people suffer a loss of dexterity in minutes, which can be dangerous or deadly when someone is trying to escape a sinking watercraft.Some of the swells on the bay were up to 5 feet (1.5 meters), said Lt. Joseph England of the Richmond Police Department, who responded to the scene.
“The wind was coming underneath the Golden Gate and blowing toward Alcatraz,” England said Wednesday. “If you have a smaller vessel and you don’t know what you’re doing and you’re hitting those swells sideways, it can lead to disaster.”
