Commercial fishermen who rushed to assist passengers after a boat sank near Alcatraz Island described a desperate rescue effort as they pulled people from the cold waters of San Francisco Bay on Tuesday, while authorities continued searching on Wednesday for three missing passengers, as reported by the New York Post.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, 20 people were aboard the 49-foot cabin cruiser Volare when it sank Tuesday afternoon.

DEVELOPING: A dramatic search-and-rescue operation is underway after a pontoon boat caught on fire near Alcatraz Island.

Officials say 19 people were on board when the fire broke out. One person was killed, two remain missing and three were taken to the hospital. The remaining… pic.twitter.com/CAywfBE8G1 — Fox News (@FoxNews) July 15, 2026

As of Wednesday morning, one person had died, three people remained missing, and 17 others had been rescued.

Commercial fishermen Mike Montoya and Justin Marceline told NBC Bay Area they were among the first civilians to reach the scene after the vessel began going under.

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“There was even people banging at the windows as they were like filing out, and as soon as people were hitting the water, we were just trying to pick them up as fast as we can,” they said.

“Some people didn’t even have life vests on, and they were drowning.”

Authorities also confirmed that a dog aboard the vessel died in the incident.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the San Francisco Fire Department continued searching for the three missing passengers on Wednesday, using thermal imaging, tide prediction, and modeling to guide search operations.

Video shows the moments a boat based out of Stockton sinks in the San Francisco Bay. A crew member on a recreational vessel was responding to a call for help when the video was taken. Full coverage: https://t.co/sW4FEhWi9u pic.twitter.com/q0BYBQTJ3b

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Marceline said the experience is something he will not soon forget.

“You don’t know the feeling until you see it and it happens first-hand, but it’s….nothing I’d like to experience again,” Marceline said.

Officials said the Volare was approximately 600 yards off Alcatraz Island, between the former prison island and the Golden Gate Bridge, when it began taking on water and sank beneath the bay's cold waters.

Authorities initially received reports of smoke coming from the vessel.

However, officials said the San Francisco Police Department's Marine 3 vessel, which was the first public safety boat to arrive, determined that what witnesses believed was smoke was actually steam coming from the boat.

Emergency responders rescued 17 people from the water. Officials said one individual required life-saving measures but later died.

Three other passengers were transported to hospitals for treatment.

Investigators described the vessel as a pontoon boat and believe it launched from the St. Francis Yacht Club before the incident.

San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said Tuesday evening that emergency crews remained focused on locating survivors.

“Right now we are in full rescue mode,” Crispen said Tuesday night.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said the operation involved numerous agencies working together in what he described as an extensive emergency response.

The rescue effort is a massive, multi-agency response and an “all-hands-on-deck search and hopefully rescue,” Lurie said.

Authorities said personnel from the San Francisco Police Department, San Francisco Fire Department, United States Coast Guard, Oakland Police Department, Tiburon Fire Department, Southern Marin Fire Protection District, along with commercial and recreational vessels already on the bay, joined the rescue operation.

James Smith of Berkeley, a charter fishing boat captain with more than three decades of experience on the water, said tragedies of this kind remain difficult to witness despite his years of experience.

“I’ve been a charter operator for 35-plus years, and it’s pretty horrific anytime you see an accident like this,” Smith told NBC Bay Area.

Officials have not yet determined what caused the Volare to sink. The investigation remains ongoing as search crews continue efforts to locate the three missing passengers.

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