2 die, 8 hurt after sailboat capsizes in San Diego Bay

Two men drowned and eight others, including two children, were injured when a sailboat capsized Sunday evening in San Diego Bay.

The boat, initially reported to be a 35-foot rental, ran into unknown trouble shortly after 5 p.m. near Harbor Island. It was not immediately clear why the boat overturned, said Marguerite Elicone, a spokeswoman for the San Diego Port Authority, which oversees Harbor Police, the agency investigating the accident.

San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said there was no immediate indication that another boat was involved. Elicone said weather conditions had been fairly mild Sunday, though winds can kick up in the area in late afternoon.

The most seriously injured of the survivors was a woman who remained in the intensive care unit at UC San Diego Medical Center, where she was being treated for hypothermia, Elicone said.

All 10 people on board were in the water when Harbor Police arrived a few minutes after the accident.

Most of the victims were members of one family, Luque said. Identities of the two men killed were not released, but both were described as in their 50s or 60s. Both were pronounced dead at a rescue command center on nearby Shelter Island, where 60 emergency workers took the victims from rescue boats, Luque said.

The injured children appeared to be about 10 to 12 years old, Luque said. The survivors were taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital, as well as the UC San Diego facility.

Most of the survivors were in stable condition Sunday night, and some, including one child, had been released.

Officials said they did not know whether the boat was under sail or running on its engine when it capsized.

Divers remained in the water Sunday evening, examining the boat.

Luque said thatbased on conversations with rescued family members, who required translation assistance, officials were confident they had accounted for everyone on the boat.

rich.connell@latimes.com