Crews rescued 13 people from a sinking boat off the coast of Newport Beach, officials announced on Tuesday.
Harbor Patrol with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene about a half-mile off the coast on Sunday at around 2:20 p.m., the agency said.
The Irvine man who owned the 30-foot fishing boat called the U.S. Coast Guard about smoke and water in the craft.
The Sheriff’s Department said it was contacted by the Coast Guard since its Harbor Patrol officers could respond quicker.
The 51-year-old boat owner and his 18-year-old son, who had invited his friends for a cruise, could not determine the issue, according to authorities.
The boat owner tried to continue driving to slow down the flooding, the Sheriff’s Department said.
A deputy on a patrol craft first got to the scene and transferred the passengers, adults and teens, onto his boat. The individuals shortly boarded two OCSD fire boats, according to the agency.
Crews tried to dispel water from the boat, but at about 2:45 p.m, it sank in less than a minute, the Sheriff’s Department said.
The boat was pulled from the ocean on Monday night. The owner told authorities that he had the craft undergo maintenance about a week before the incident.
OCSD officers conducted 86 rescues in Newport Harbor in 2017, according to the agency. Sunday’s incident was the 41st rescue this year, the Sheriff Department added.