Rescue Crews Search For People Possibly In Water After Boat Mishap Near Golden Gate Bridge

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Rescue crews were searching for people who may be in the water near the Golden Gate Bridge after a boat mishap in the Bay early Monday morning, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard watchstanders received a radio beacon distress signal from a 30-foot sailing vessel around 4:15 a.m., Coast Guard officials said.

Crews aboard a Coast Guard plane, lifeboat and cutter were dispatched to search the Kirby Cove area near the bridge for the vessel, called the "Alma."

A short time later, Coast Guard officials were notified of a boat matching the description of the vessel registered to the distress signal seen on the rocks at Yellow Bluff.

Coast Guard and Southern Marin Fire Protection District crews located the boat in the Yellow Bluff area partially submerged.

The vessel later sank and divers searched the water and confirmed that the boat was the Alma, according to the Coast Guard.

"We are using every asset available to locate any possible persons in distress," said Cmdr. Donald Montoro of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco.

Information about the number of occupants believed to be aboard the boat was not immediately available this afternoon.

Anyone with information about the Alma or its operator is asked to call the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco command center at (415) 399-3520.

San Francisco