SAN FRANCISCO: A passenger boat carrying nearly two dozen people started sinking near Alcatraz island in San Francisco Bay, but the U.S. Coast Guard said everyone aboard was safely rescued.
The 40-foot (12-meter) Neptune hit an unknown object in the bay Friday night, leaving it with a 1-foot (30-centimeter) gash, Petty Officer Pamela Boehland said.
The craft began taking on water and sinking, she said. But a Coast Guard boat happened to be nearby, taking on board most of the Neptune's 22 passengers and crew and summoning another Coast Guard vessel that picked up the rest.
The boats took the passengers to San Francisco's Pier 39. There were no reports of injuries.