Coast Guard to Probe Sinking That Killed 1

SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard plans to step up its investigation into what caused a charter fishing boat on Saturday to sink about a mile offshore, killing one passenger and injuring another, officials said.

Investigators spent Sunday interviewing crew members and passengers about possible causes of the accident, said Matt Juillerat, a Coast Guard spokesman.

They also debated whether to refloat the Contender, which sank in about 42 feet of water, Juillerat said.

“We plan to start again bright and early Monday,” Juillerat said. “Right now, everything is kind of being thought through. Nothing has been determined yet.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” he said.

The Coast Guard received a call about the boat’s trouble at 2:18 p.m. All 24 passengers and four crew members went into the 50-degree water as the 49-foot boat slipped beneath the surface about five miles south of the Golden Gate Bridge.

At least three private boats were on the scene before the Coast Guard arrived and most of the passengers had already been plucked from the sea, Petty Officer Brian Greer said, adding that swells averaged about 8 feet, making the rescue difficult.

Passengers were taken to Ft. Baker, just north of San Francisco, where an elderly man was pronounced dead.

“He had a pulse and was breathing intermittently on the [rescue] boat,” Greer said.

A 46-year-old man was taken to an area hospital for treatment of hypothermia and chest pains. His condition was unavailable Sunday.

Marin County coroner’s investigator Pam Carter identified the victim as Juan Sablan, 85, of Salida.

She said a cause of death would likely be known today.

Other passengers were treated at the scene for signs of hypothermia.