Overview
- The three-deck, 49-foot cabin cruiser Volare began taking on water and sank near Alcatraz on Tuesday with 20 people aboard; rescuers recovered 16 people, one of whom later died and was identified as Clifford Joseph Boisa, and a dog also died.
- Multi-agency crews from the San Francisco Fire Department, U.S. Coast Guard and San Francisco Police Department conducted an intense surface, air and boat search for more than 24 hours before suspending active searching for the three missing.
- Investigators have ruled out a fire as the cause after initial reports of smoke likely tied to engine vapor and are examining water ingress, mechanical problems and the bay’s strong currents as possible explanations.
- The wreck rests at an estimated depth of about 130 feet, which exceeds local police dive limits, so authorities are considering contracting commercial salvage and deep-diving teams to recover the vessel and assist any recovery efforts.
- The incident highlights hazards of San Francisco Bay’s cold water and strong tides and raises safety questions about lifejackets, vessel loading and maintenance for small recreational trips that involved mostly older family members traveling for a memorial.