Alcatraz boat tragedy: 1 victim identified as search for missing continues

SAN FRANCISCO - The search continued Wednesday for three people still missing after a recreational boat sank in the San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island, as authorities identified the elderly man who died in the tragedy.

Clifford Joseph Boisa, 79, of Sutter County, was pronounced dead after being pulled from the water Tuesday afternoon, according to the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office. A dog on board the vessel also died.

Boisa and 16 others were rescued after the boat began taking on water for reasons that remain under investigation. The survivors are recovering at the CPMC Van Ness Campus.

There were 20 people aboard the 40-foot pleasure craft, named the Volare, for a memorial service when the incident occurred around 3:37 p.m., authorities said. San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said the passengers were mostly relatives.

The vessel was registered out of Stockton.

Rough seas

What we know:

The boat departed at or near the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, passed under the Golden Gate Bridge twice, and visited Angel Island State Park in the bay before the apparent return trip, according to the Associated Press. The boat began taking on water between Fort Mason and Alcatraz Island.

The San Francisco Fire Department received multiple emergency calls and arrived to find the vessel actively sinking.

"The reports we've had from witnesses is that there were rough seas, and apparently the vessel began to take on water and was turned over in the bay," Crispen said.

Initial callers reported what appeared to be smoke coming from the boat, but San Francisco police officers who first reached the vessel determined it was steam.

Tragedy on the Bay

What they're saying:

Witnesses described a frantic scene as the burgundy-colored boat became mostly submerged. One witness, a crew member on another recreational boat who asked not to be named, said she heard the U.S. Coast Guard on the radio responding to the call for help.

"There were people clinging to the top of it, there were people in the water, a lot of debris scattered all over the place," the woman said. "Four or five people were hanging onto the top of that boat, and they were waiting to be taken out of that water."

The witness said she and her crew went to see if they could assist in the rescue.

She recalled that most survivors were either wearing a life jacket or holding onto one, but she also witnessed a desperate struggle for survival.

"It was just so sad because the people appeared to be middle-aged to elderly people. You could tell they were struggling in the water. They were trying to swim over to the Coast Guard boat," she said.

Initial callers reported what appeared to be smoke coming from the boat, but San Francisco police officers who first reached the vessel determined it was steam.

The Coast Guard used thermal imaging technology to continue searching for the remaining missing passengers through the night into Wednesday.

The investigation into what caused the vessel to flood and capsize is ongoing.

San Francisco