One dead, two seriously injured as boat hits rocks under Golden Gate Bridge

One person is dead and two others remain hospitalized after a boat crashed near the Golden Gate Bridge early Thursday.

San Francisco Police Department’s Marine Unit responded to reports of a vessel in distress around 6:10 a.m.

Emergency crews found the boat had crashed into the rocks beneath the iconic bridge and begun to capsize, authorities said in a statement.

Captain Ben Mechling, a licensed USCG OUPV 25-ton Master Mariner, was out on a salmon fishing trip when he first noticed the vessel on his radar and navigation lights.

A terrifying video of the collision, captured by Mechling, shows the 25-feet boat heading straight towards the rocks.

“When the boat was cutting across my bow, I noticed it was going into a place where normally you wouldn’t go… it was going about 25 knots. I paid attention to it, and it smacked right into the rocks.” Mechlong told The California Post.

He immediately radioed the Coast Guards and stood near the boat. Coast Guard crews arrived within 10 minutes to rescue the victims who had scrambled onto the submerged hull, Mechling said.

“They threw in the life rings… the people were on top of the boat. I think they jumped in the water and the Coast Guard jumped in the water too to get over there to save them,” he said.

The boat quickly capsized and was already upside down by the time rescuers ventured in the water.

He said it’s possible that boat was in an auto pilot mode because it went on to directly hit the rocks.

“Maybe they put it on an autopilot and they hit it wrong, or their autopilot wasn’t working right, or maybe there was some sort of medical emergency,” he added. 

A massive multi-agency effort quickly mobilized to save those on board. Rescuers found three individuals aboard the capsized vessel.

All three victims were rushed to a Marin County hospital with life-threatening injuries. One of the passengers succumbed to their injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.

The SFPD’s Traffic Collision Investigation Unit Major Accident Investigation Team (TCIU MAIT) responded to the scene and is investigating the cause of the collision.

---

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters