2 dead, 8 injured as sailboat sinks off San Diego

[March 28, 2011]  SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A sailboat capsized and threw 10 people into the waters of San Diego Bay, leaving two men dead, one woman in intensive care, and seven other people injured, authorities said.

Harbor police pulled all who were aboard from the water and took them to a boat dock where firefighters and paramedics provided aid following the sinking around 5 p.m. PDT Sunday.

Two men in their 50s or 60s were declared dead at the scene and the other eight were taken to local hospitals. Two children were released from the hospital after being treated briefly, San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said..

None of the injuries was life-threatening, he said.

Though just 10 people were reported to be aboard, divers searched the sunken wreckage for any additional victims.

"We are confident that everyone is accounted for," Luque said.

One woman was being treated in intensive care at UCSD Medical Center for hypothermia, said Marguerite Elicone, a spokeswoman for the Port of San Diego, which includes the Harbor Police.

Most of those on board were members of an Asian family, and investigators had to bring in translators to speak to them, Luque said. He did not know what language they spoke. No victims' names were immediately released.

Investigators were trying to determine why the boat flipped over then sank near Shelter Island.

No other vessels were involved, Elicone said. There were several witnesses but the spokeswoman said she didn't know what they saw.

Harbor police were leading the investigation.

The U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the scene, but phone messages left for them were not immediately returned.

Harbor Police officers were at the 25-foot boat within five minutes after a Navy vessel reported the boat capsized, Elicone said.

"They were pulling people out of the water. There were also civilians assisting in pulling people out of the water," she said.

[Associated Press; By ELLIOT SPAGAT]

Associated Press writer Andrew Dalton contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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