(New photo courtesy Chaucer Wells Photography – that’s the capsized boat on the left)
2:21 PM: We’re on our way to South Alki, where the U.S. Coast Guard is helping a small vessel that’s in trouble. Thanks to Sally and Steve for the original tip.
2:31 PM: TV helicopter is hovering over the water – thanks for the texts about that. It’s extremely windy out here, too. No official information yet but Sally and Steve had texted that it appeared some people had transferred from the private vessel to the Coast Guard boat.
2:38 PM: Scanner traffic says three people have been rescued and they’re looking for one more. Beach Drive is closed along Constellation Park for the rescue operations’ shore component.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
Two helicopters are now in the area. The boat is capsized, we can see from shore.
(Updated photo courtesy Chaucer Wells Photography: USCG helicopter dropping diver into the water)
3:00 PM: Divers are in the water and reporting that they have “recovered one victim from the vessel.” We have also heard a report that two of the three people rescued will be admitted to the hospital, while the third declined treatment.
(This photo and next two, by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
3:17 PM: Seattle Fire says the patient recovered from the water is “unconscious and unresponsive” and had been in for about half an hour. He is reported to be undergoing CPR while being taken to Harborview Medical Center.
3:39 PM: Our remaining crew at Alki Point says the Coast Guard is leaving with the capsized boat. Beach Drive is open again at the scene. We’ll be adding more photos, as well as updates as we get them.
4:25 PM UPDATE: Via Twitter, SFD says five people were on the boat. Their fireboat Chief Seattle (above) was part of the search/rescue off Constellation Park, as was a Seattle Police Harbor Patrol boat (at right, below).
4:54 PM UPDATE: The capsized boat was towed to Don Armeni – this photo was shared by Patrick Binns:
Thank you to all the readers who shared photos and texts/calls as this unfolded. To get a sense of just how windy and choppy it was at the time, check out this brief clip by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli:
6:08 PM UPDATE: We just talked with Kyle Moore from Seattle Fire, whose Station 14-based divers rescued the captain of the boat, found in the wheelhouse somewhere between half an hour to an hour after the boat flipped. Moore says the captain remains in critical condition; the other three admitted to the hospital are satisfactory. He says the Coast Guard is the agency that mentioned a fifth person rescued – SFD never saw or treated that person, so Moore has no further details. USCG had taken the other three to Fire Station 5 downtown after rescuing them before SFD was even called in to join the search. Still no official word on exactly whose boat it was and what it was doing.
12:58 AM: As noted in comments, our partners at The Seattle Times report that the man who was pulled out by divers didn’t make it. The Times reports that the boat and its crew were from Ballard Marine Construction, doing survey work when this happened.
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