Alcatraz ferry crew rescues passengers on sinking ship in San Francisco

Byby Melanie Woodrow KGO logo
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Alcatraz ferry crew rescues passengers on sinking ship in San Francisco
An Alcatraz ferry Captain and his crew are being hailed heroes after rescuing 10 people from a small vessel Thursday night.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- An Alcatraz ferry Captain and his crew are being hailed heroes after rescuing 10 people from a small vessel Thursday night.

A passenger on Alcatraz Clipper took cellphone video of the rescue. The distress call came in at 8:45 p.m.

"So we got the call on channel 16 on that radio," said Captain Erik Anfinson, nicknamed, "Captain Tubby," as he pointed to a radio. "Just as we got there the boat started taking on enough water to the point where we wanted to make sure we got everybody off."

"Captain Tubby handled it like he had ice water in his veins," said deckhand Shawn Christin.

"Everything happens real quick," said Captain Tubby.

Within minutes of rescuing all 10 passengers Captain Tubby says the vessel was under water.

Alcatraz Tours had more than 400 passengers on board who all errupted in cheers.

"I'm just doing my job that's what we're trained to do," said Captain Tubby.

"Another day at the office," Christin added.