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Just why did three men die in a crowded overturned pleasure boat off Catalina Island?
Authorities Monday were trying to answer that question as the investigation continued into the deaths after the 22-foot Bayliner boat capsized in rough seas off Catalina Island.
Two other people suffered critical injuries in the boating accident, which occurred on the west side of the island about 9:30 Saturday morning.
Young Joon Park, 64, and Kyung Hwam Kim, 47, both of Los Angeles, and Jason Jung Noh, 62, of Buena Park, were killed, said Capt. John Kades of the coroner’s office.
Some broadcast reports indicated the dead men were of Korean descent and that the seven people aboard the doomed craft were out on the water for a morning of fishing. However, those reports have not been confirmed.
A witness reported that the Bayliner overturned near Salta Verde Point on the backside of the island, said Sondra- Kay Kneen of the U.S. Coast Guard. Waves in the area were reported to be between four and six feet at the time.
A good Samaritan rescued two people from the water and reported seeing another person on the rocks, prompting a Coast Guard helicopter crew rescue of that individual, Kneen said.
Two county fire rescue boats, Baywatch Isthmus and Baywatch Avalon, recovered three bodies from the water, and a Catalina Island Conservancy officer located the seventh person on the beach, she said.
— City News Service