SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan vessel rescued three people Friday from a 32-foot motor vessel that was on fire and taking on water approximately 5 miles west of Stinson Beach.
Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders received a distress call on VHF channel 16 at 11:58 a.m. from a good Samaritan who reported smoke coming from the vessel and a person aboard waving their arms.
Watchstanders coordinated the launches of a Coast Guard Station Golden Gate 47-foot motor lifeboat crew and a Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew. Before Coast Guard crews arrived, the good Samaritan vessel rescued all three boaters from the vessel, which subsequently sank.
The Station Golden Gate crew arrived on scene and transferred the three boaters to the motor lifeboat. After determining none of the survivors required medical assistance, the crew transported them to Pier 45, their original point of departure.
The vessel’s master reported that the vessel began taking on water rapidly through the stern engine compartment before sinking.
The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.
