1 killed after boat capsized in Bodega Bay, officials say; 3rd reported boating accident in 2 weeks

BODEGA BAY, Calif. (KGO) -- One person has died and four others are hospitalized after a boat capsized near Bodega Bay on Monday, officials said.

The initial report came in around 1:45 p.m. of five people in the water near Salmon Creek.

Law enforcement told ABC7's Dion Lim as they tried to talk to the victims, hypothermia had set in, and it was difficult for the victims to communicate as to what exactly happened.

Rescuers dealt with 15-foot swells amid a small craft advisory.

It is still too early to tell whether or not that advisory played a role in the capsizing.

MORE: 13-year-old sole survivor of deadly Bodega Bay boating trip describes ordeal, last moment with dad

This is the third deadly incident involving a capsized boat in the area this month.

On November 2, four people died just north of Bodega Bay.

Then on November 4, one person died after another boat capsized in the same area.

In Monday's incident, all five individuals on board were adults. Officials say it's unusual to see these types of boating accidents.

"It's unusual to see this number of boat accidents in this small period of time. This is our third boat accident in just about two weeks, all of them were crabbing, all of them were recreational - we don't normally see this level of accidents in the ocean," said Wood.

MORE: Wife of missing Bodega Bay fisherman confirms teen sons were also on boat that capsized

Milly Biller is Port Captain at the Inverness Yacht Club. She is very familiar with the water conditions where these accidents have happened.

"That is a particularly treacherous and hazardous body of water out there. We just had a full moon and king tides so the currents are strong and unpredictable in that area, not well mapped because there is no commercial traffic there," said Biller.

"Is it all current? Is it wind? Is it wave size? Is it a combination of all of them?" asked ABC7 News reporter J.R. Stone.

"It's a total combination of all of them," said Biller.

She says the MO for a lot of crab fisherman is to set out their gear in the morning when the weather is calmer and pick it up in the afternoon when conditions have changed.

As to what happened in this case, officials are still trying to figure that out.