Father and son die in boat horror

A father and son died when a sailboat carrying 10 people on an trip organised by a group that helps disabled people capsized in calm water.

The people on the 26ft boat included seven members of one family and two members of another, along with the driver of the craft. They spoke Cantonese and English.

Chao Chen, 73, and his son, Jun Chen, 48, of San Diego, California, died on Sunday night, San Diego Harbour police chief John Bolduc said. Another person, who was not identified, was in a serious condition.

Among those thrown into the water in San Diego Bay were two young adults with undisclosed special needs and a 10-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy who were wearing lifejackets, authorities said.

Some people on the boat were not wearing lifejackets, Mr Balduc said, but authorities had not yet determined how many.

The cause of the accident was being investigated but it appeared no other boats were involved.

The excursion was organised by an unidentified Indiana-based group that provides sailing trips for disabled people, authorities said.

Authorities also were determining how much weight the boat was carrying to determine if it was overloaded.

Chris Tucker, owner of SailTime Channel Islands in Oxnard, said a boat that size should hold a maximum of six people, but with 10 aboard there would be scant room for everyone to sit down.

"With that many people, if four people were told to sit over there and the other people got up, that would be enough instability right there," he said.

"I'm amazed they didn't sink right where they all got on. That's just overloading the boat."

The boat was carrying five men, three women and two children, authorities said.

The eight injured people were taken to hospitals. The children were released after being treated briefly.