Overview
- A 25-foot recreational fishing boat struck rocks near Lime Point beneath the Golden Gate Bridge’s north tower on Thursday, Sept. 17, capsized and sent three people into the water.
- Rescuers from the U.S. Coast Guard and local marine units reached the scene within minutes, found all three people alive and wearing life jackets, and took them to a Marin County hospital where 35-year-old Daniel Zhengyu Qin later died.
- Qin was identified by a family friend and an online fundraiser as an Apple software engineer and father of three; a campaign has been launched to help his wife with funeral, living and emergency expenses.
- An eyewitness licensed mariner said the boat appeared to be traveling about 25 knots before it hit the rocks, and investigators have raised but not confirmed possible factors such as autopilot malfunction, a medical event or limited pre-dawn fog.
- Local and federal agencies are coordinating the probe, towing and processing the capsized vessel for evidence, conducting forensic post-mortem and toxicology testing, and assessing salvage and pollution risks as two survivors remain hospitalized.