One woman was killed and two women are still missing but presumed dead after a motorboat crashed against a houseboat on Lake Powell, located on the border of Utah and Arizona Thursday.
Kane County Sheriff's Sgt. Alan Alldredge said National Park Service dispatchers at Wahweap Marina received a call reporting a crash near Dangling Rope Marina at around 8:15 a.m. Thursday.
Thirteen people, including seven adults and six children, were in the motorboat at the time of the incident. The woman who died was 57 years old and was sitting in the front passenger seat. The missing women were 29 and 22 years old and were also passengers in the motorboat.
Two people, including the driver of the motorboat and an 11-year-old girl, were rushed from the lake to a hospital in Flagstaff, Ariz. by a medical helicopter. They were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Related
- Flooding in Calgary forces evacuations in adjacent communities
- Mortgage rates fall for the first time in seven weeks
- 'Landlords From Hell' sentenced to jail for menacing tenants
- Canmore flood prompts state of emergency, mass evacuation
- Lake Superior shipwreck believed to be Henry B. Smith
- Erin Brockovich arrested for boating while intoxicated
No houseboat passengers were injured, according to Alldredge.
The names of those involved have not been released by authorities as they're looking to contact the families first.
The motorboat collided with the houseboat in a channel about 200 yards wide, Alldredge said. After the crash, the motorboat overturned in the water.
“This time of year, the lake can get busy and these kinds of accidents, even though they’re not rare, they do have a great potential for happening out there,” Alldredge said.
Officials are currently investigating if the motorboat driver tried to avoid the collision or was simply distracted.
Officials with the National Park Service, Utah State Parks and Kane County Sheriff's Office are assisting the investigation and the search for the missing women.
