12 people rescued from sinking boat in Marina del Rey

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (KABC) -- Crews rushed to rescue 12 people from a sinking boat in Marina del Rey on Sunday.

Baywatch Redondo and Baywatch Marina del Rey responded to the distress call at about 5 p.m.

"We were on the boat and it just started filling up with water. The back-end went up like this and went straight down, and the next thing you know we were all swimming," rescued passenger Arian Mayer described.

Officials said the 36-foot-long speed-boat was taking on water about a mile from Dockweiler State Beach.

"I went to the cabin where the bed was and I noticed there was like 2 feet of water and then we all started to panic," rescued passenger Madison Weekly said.

"It happened really fast. So we grabbed our phones, we grabbed our purses and we grabbed life-jackets and we just prayed," Mayer recalled.

Crews rescued 12 people from the water in less than five minutes of the initial call. Everyone was rushed back to the marina where they were treated for mild hypothermia.

"The boat was somewhat overloaded. We have a lot of wind and wave activity so we had a lot of water going over the transom," Deputy Steven Propster with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. "When that transom is sunk, then the boat goes under and they can't save it."

As the boat was being towed back to the harbor it began to capsize. Crews with Sea Tow Santa Monica Bay were able to eventually get the vessel back to the marina.