One man was killed and two people were hospitalized after their fishing boat struck rocks and capsized beneath the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office.
Just after 6 a.m., a person called 911 to report a vessel in distress beneath the bridge. The boat had run aground near Lime Point, beside the north bridge tower, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office coroner’s division.
A U.S. Coast Guard boat crew pulled two people from the water, and San Francisco police rescued a third, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
All were in critical condition. They were treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to Marin Health Medical Center in Greenbrae, authorities said.
One man died at the hospital, according to the Coast Guard.
The Marin County sheriff’s office coroner’s division identified him as Daniel Zhengyu Qin, 35, of San Jose, adding that he died “despite prolonged resuscitative efforts.”
The other passengers’ names were not released.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones of the individual who lost his life,” Capt. Jarod Toczko, commander of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, said in a statement. “While our crews and partner agencies worked together to bring all three people to safety, we recognize that this rescue ended in a heartbreaking loss. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.”
A forensic postmortem exam with routine toxicology testing is expected to be completed early next week, authorities said.
The exact cause of the collision remains under investigation by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard, and San Francisco police.
The National Park is overseeing salvage efforts, with Coast Guard personnel assessing potential pollution risks and the need for debris removal.
It is not the first deadly maritime tragedy in the San Francisco Bay this summer.
On July 14, a 49-foot cruise boat called the Volare sank near Alcatraz Island, killing four passengers. Three were pulled from the water; one remains missing and is presumed dead.
A dog aboard the vessel also died.
The Volare carried 20 passengers, mostly family and friends gathered for a memorial service to honor a loved ones. After setting out from a marina in the San Francisco Bay Area, they passed under the Golden Gate Bridge to the Pacific Ocean and across San Francisco Bay to Angel Island.
But as afternoon winds whipped up and the seas grew rough, the boat took on water as they returned to shore and began to sink about 600 yards off Alcatraz Island.
The San Francisco Police Department’s Marine Unit found the submerged wreckage using boat-mounted sonar.
The police department announced in early September that it would not raise the boat because it would be too dangerous and costly, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The wreckage is settled in an area about 130 feet, just past the limit to which humans can safely dive, police told The Times.
The area has currents so strong that they continue to move the wreckage.
The incident remains under investigation.
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