Engine woes stall duck boat in S.F. Bay

As Philadelphia nears the one-year anniversary of the fatal stalling of a Ride the Ducks tour boat, a set of tourists got stranded aboard a similar vessel in San Francisco Bay.

On Wednesday, just before noon, the California boat had to be towed from the water, after experiencing engine trouble that produced smoke, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

No one was hurt.

Two Hungarian tourists died on July 7, 2010, when a stalled duck boat in the Delaware River was struck by a city barge being pushed by a tugboat. The duck boat sank, sending all 37 people aboard wound up in the river.

Next Thursday, on the anniversary of the accident, rides in Philadelphia will be suspended to honor the victims, according to Georgia-based Ride the Ducks.

Wrongful death lawsuits have been filed by the families of the two who died, Dora Schwendtner, 16, and Szabolcs Prem, 20.

Cell phone misuse played a key role in the accident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The tug's first mate was distracted from his lookout duties because of phone calls about a family medical problem, and a duck boat deckhand had been texting minutes before the collision, officials said.