On Tuesday, when a vessel capsized in the San Francisco Bay and started sinking, nearby captains and crew members rushed towards the emergency, pulling people from the water, throwing life jackets to survivors and helping before first responders could reach everyone.
A family memorial became a desperate fight for survival as nearby captains dropped everything and raced toward the sinking boat off Alcatraz Island.
“Our guys, being there, being ready, helping out. It’s what we do out there. We take care of the Bay,” said Erik Ostrander. “Everyone went there and started providing help.”
Among them, Captain Aaron Anfinson and crewmember Jeff DeJung. They were in the middle of a private cruise with 32 passengers on board when they turned their boat toward the emergency.
“I had my crewmember Jeff grab the fire hose and told my passengers to get inside,” Aaron Anfinson said. “As we were going there, I called the Coast Guard, told them about it. They had people there pretty quickly after we showed up.”
Before rescue crews could reach everyone, Anfinson and his crew started getting life-saving equipment into the water.
“I didn’t see a life raft anywhere, didn’t see many people with life jackets, so I told Jeff to get life jackets for people on board,” Anfinson said.
One woman was struggling to stay above the water.
“I threw the life ring to her. She was able to grab onto it and we pulled her in and right over there, on the side of the boat, we can open up that railing there, and we used the swim ladder and we used all sorts of things, not normally emergency-related, and she was able to climb up the ladder, and we got her onto the boat,” DeJung said.
“She was bleeding quite a bit. So, we brought her on board, used the ladder to get her on the side of the boat,” Anfinson said.
Despite the quick actions of nearby boaters and first responders, one person died and three others remain missing.
It’s something Anfinson says is still difficult to accept.
“It’s very sad. We did what we could, but it’s very unfortunate,” Anfinson said.
For everyone who answered the call, the rescue may have ended on the water, but what they witnessed followed them home Tuesday night.
“I gave my mom a big hug when I got home,” DeJung said.
The Coast Guard says crews will continue searching through this evening for the three people still missing, using boats, helicopters and aircraft across San Francisco Bay.
They also thanked the nearby captains and crews who rushed in to help—saying their quick actions played an important role in rescuing so many people.