Three hospitalized after boat overturns at Ocean Beach

A life-and-death situation unfolded at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday on San Francisco's Ocean Beach.

A small boat capsized in the rough waters and people on the beach stepped in to help the three people on-board.

The fog was thick at the time, making the rescue that much more difficult.

One good Samaritan was on his nightly jog when he saw the commotion on the beach.

He pulled one of the victims out of the water.

"I reached down and I picked him up and I got him to shore," the man said. (Then I) took his clothes off, took my clothes off, wrapped him up in my clothes and just held him, rubbing his body, trying to get him warm."

Two other people were on the boat. One of them told paramedics they had been in the water for four hours.

"Time is an issue when they're in the water," said Battalion Chief Brendan Ward. "Obviously they were in the water long enough to have hypothermia."

Ward said the fog made the rescue effort incredibly challenging.

A life preserver was found along with an ice chest, but it's not clear what the men on the boat were doing when it capsized.

All three boaters were hospitalized. One was in critical condition. Their names have not been released.

The National Weather Service had issued a high surf advisory for the coast until 6 p.m. Thursday.