One person has died and several others remain missing after a boat sank near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, triggering a major search and rescue operation.
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The vessel, which was carrying around 20 people, went down Tuesday afternoon about 600 yards off Alcatraz.
Rescue crews rushed to the scene as passengers entered the water and the boat quickly began to sink.
Alcatraz Boat Sinking Sparks Major Rescue Operation
The U.S. Coast Guard initially classified the emergency as a "vessel fire."
However, officials later said there was no evidence that a fire had occurred.
Speaking at a 5 p.m. press conference, the San Francisco Fire Department said the three-level pontoon boat was already mostly submerged when emergency crews arrived.
Only the top deck remained above the surface.
Officials said some passengers were in the water while others were still aboard the vessel, adding that none of those in the water were wearing life jackets.
Most of the injuries were reportedly caused by what was described as a "violent plunge" into the bay.
Authorities also confirmed that no burn injuries were reported.
Search Continues for Missing Passengers
The boat had launched from the area near the St. Francis Yacht Club.
According to NBC Bay Area, those on board were family members taking part in a memorial gathering.
San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen confirmed that at least one person had died while 16 others were rescued from the water.
"We have a report of 19 total members of the community on this vessel," he said.
"We are going to continue for hours to make sure that we find these two missing people."
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie thanked first responders for their efforts and offered his condolences to the family of the deceased.
"This is an all hands on deck search," Lurie said. "And hopefully rescue. And you all have done some extraordinary work in the last 90 minutes."
During the rescue operation, the boat became completely submerged.
Officials also confirmed that a dog aboard the vessel died in the incident.
Authorities are continuing their search for the missing passengers while investigators work to determine exactly what caused the boat to sink.
