Alcatraz

July 14 (UPI) — Authorities were searching waters near Alcatraz on Tuesday evening for two missing people after a pontoon boat carrying 19 people capsized off San Francisco, leaving one person dead and 16 others rescued.

The three-level vessel with 19 people aboard was reported on fire about 600 yards off the coast of Alcatraz at 3:35 p.m. PDT, San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said in a press conference. Though reported as a boat fire, no evidence of one was found.

Responders were deployed, with the police department’s marine unit arriving on the scene to find one person “severely injured,” he said. CPR was administered to the victim, who was transported to Gashouse Cove Marina on the shore, where they were pronounced dead.

Officers arrived to find people had fallen into the water while others were inside the top compartment of the vessel, he said.

Of the 16 people rescued, three were transported to California Pacific Hospital, he said, adding that they had sustained impact injuries when they fell from the boat.

Crispen said he spoke with several of the survivors who remained on shore.

“They’re incredibly upset,” he said. “They’re aware that there’s some serious injuries here. They’re concerned about their mates and they went out on the bay with and, obviously, we’re going to take good care of them here.”

A search involving 11 vessels was underway for the two missing people, he said, adding, “We are going to be continuing for hours to make sure we find these two people if possible.”

He said authorities believe the boat launched from a local yacht club, but that was being investigated. It was also unclear whether those aboard were wearing life vests.

All those aboard the boat appeared to be adults, though a dog that had accompanied them died in the incident, he said.

Alcatraz is a former island prison and a current tourist attraction that sees about 1.2 million visits a year, according to the National Park Service.

OCHOPEE, Fla. — The immigration detention center in the Florida swamps known as “Alligator Alcatraz” is closing after nearly a year, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.

DeSantis said the center was always supposed to be temporary and now federal officials have enough ability to handle detention and deportation in more permanent facilities.

“It served its purpose for the time,” the Republican governor said.

Officials announced a temporary closure of the facility earlier in June, saying hurricane season made it unsafe to keep the detainees in the Florida Everglades. All the of people kept at the isolated airstrip had been sent to other facilities.

Immigration advocates said the tents were never humane or safe to hold people. Detainees at the facility have talked about their difficulty accessing lawyers and have described poor physical conditions, including worms in the food, toilets that don’t flush, flooding floors with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere.

The detention center was built by DeSantis’ administration in a matter of days in 2025, and President Trump came to visit site.

DeSantis and Trump said the detention center was critical to Republican efforts to return people in the country illegally back to their home countries. The Republican governor said 21,000 people were deported through the facility.

Collins writes for the Associated Press.

The US is set to shut down the federal migrant detention centre known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ with detainees expected to be transferred by early June. It comes after allegations of abuse, including migrant disappearances, and restricted medical access.