An airboat carrying 15 people crashed on Tuesday morning, leaving 14 people injured and two in critical condition.
Firefighters were called to Lake Panasoffkee in Sumter County, Florida, around 10.40am on Tuesday morning, Fire Chief Leland Greek told the Orlando Sentinel.
The owner of the airboat said that the crash was caused by a broken steering cable, and ensured that it was a mechanical error and not caused by the driver.
An airboat carrying 15 people crashed on Tuesday morning, leaving 14 people injured and two in critical condition. Nine total people went to the hospital
Firefighters were called to Lake Panasoffkee in Sumter County, Florida, around 10.40am on Tuesday morning
Of the 15 people who were on the boat on Tuesday morning, all but one were injured.
Two people were injured critically, and three are in serious condition. Nine of the 14 who were injured had to be hospitalized.
Chad Weber from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that when responders reached the victims they were all alert.
‘Everyone was off the boat and we had fire rescue, EMS, personnel treating the ones who were injured,’ he told Click Orlando.
‘We talked to a few of the people who were on board and we are still conducting interviews at the hospitals.’
The boat was from Tom and Jerry’s Airboat Rides, and once responders arrived the company gave rescuers another boat to reach the victims, Chief Greek explained. s,
The store’s manager Kim Peeler told Click Orlando that the boat’s steering cable broke, causing the driver to lose control and hit a cypress knee in the water.
The store’s manager Kim Peeler told Click Orlando that the boat’s steering cable broke, causing the driver to lose control and hit a cypress knee in the water. She explained that the accident was a mechanical error and not a driver error
The jolt from the collision caused passengers to fly forward, but Peeler said that no one was fully ejected from the boat. She explained that the accident was a mechanical error and not a driver error.
Peeler also said that the boats were last inspected in September by the US Coast Guard, and passed.
‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families,’ Peeler told Click Orlando.
Weber said that the airboat were pulled out of the water just after 2pm on Tuesday with a slightly damaged front bumper.
The US Coast Guard is now investigating the crash.