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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Olga Rodriguez and Jamie Ding

Family on doomed San Francisco boat were scattering a loved one’s ashes when it sank

First responders search for missing victims after a boat accident near Alcatraz Island off San Francisco - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A family's trip to scatter the ashes of a loved one ended in heartbreak when their boat capsized in San Francisco Bay, leaving one man dead, three relatives and friends missing, and witnesses comparing the desperate final moments to "Titanic in real life."

The group had gathered aboard the 49-foot cabin cruiser Volare to honor the memory of a friend of Ralph Boisa's daughter when disaster struck near Alcatraz. The vessel was hit by a wave, took on water and rolled over before sinking.

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