Three People Rescued from Water off Alameda

Three people, including two children, fell into San Francisco Bay off Alameda when their boat capsized Sunday morning and were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, an agency spokesman said.

Several kayakers called 911 and held on to one of the unlucky boaters, a 4-year-old boy, while his 11-year-old sister and their father hung on to the side of a kayak until the Coast Guard took over, according to KTVU-TV.

An Alameda County dispatcher notified the Coast Guard at 11:42 a.m. that a 19-foot aluminum boat had capsized near the Encinal boat ramp, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read. He did not know who informed the dispatcher or which public safety agency the dispatcher works for.

The Coast Guard deployed its 25-foot rescue boat from Station San Francisco on Yerba Buena Island and picked up the trio at 11:58 a.m., Read said. He did not know whether the three were wearing life jackets.

“They were in the water,” Read said. “We delivered them to land.”

The boaters were met there by emergency medical services personnel and taken to Alameda Hospital in stable condition for further evaluation, Read said.

According to KTVU, the Alameda Fire Department also arrived at the scene, shortly after the call. An Alameda firefighter said three fire department swimmers were sent in the water.

The Alameda Fire Department has come under fire for standing by on shore on Memorial Day while a man committed suicide by drowning off Crown Memorial Beach.