New York, Jun. 13, (tca/dpa/GNA) - One person was killed when a boat carrying 29 people capsized on a cave tour in upstate New York near Niagara Falls on Monday.
The victim was identified as a man around 60 years old.
One guide and 28 locals were on the tour in Lockport, according to Destination Niagara USA, which organized the trip. The passengers were hospitality employees in Niagara County enjoying a company outing, and no children were on board.
The boat, operated by the Lockport Cave & Underground Boat Ride, was travelling down a 300-foot cave tunnel. The vessel was specially designed for the cave, according to Lockport Police Chief Steven Abbott. It could handle a maximum of 40 people.
Near the end of the passage, the boat “became unbalanced and capsized,” sending all 29 people into the water, Lockport Fire Chief Luca Quagliano said.
The water in the cave is about 5-6 feet deep, according to Quagliano. Some of the people managed to walk back to the cave entrance on their own.
However, around 16 people were rescued by emergency crews, Quagliano said. First responders used a small inflatable boat to pick up three to four people at a time and take them to safety. The entire operation took around an hour, according to Quagliano.
Investigators believe the man who died became trapped under the overturned boat and was unable to reach safety.
When emergency personnel first arrived, several people had climbed on top of the capsized boat, the fire chief said. No one on board was wearing a life jacket, and officials who’d taken the tour themselves said they were not used.
“It’s well-lit throughout the cave system,” Quagliano said. “This place has been in operation for decades without incident.”
Nearly a dozen people were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries, the worst of which was a broken arm, according to Quagliano. The water temperature was estimated at 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and at least one rescuer was treated for hypothermia.
Police Chief Abbott said authorities are treating the cave as a crime scene.
“We have one individual who’s passed, we have a whole lot of questions that need to be answered,” he said, adding that officers would interview all boat passengers in an attempt to determine what happened.
The cave system was built in Lockport in the late 1800s when the Erie Canal was in its heyday. It was designed to transport water from the canal to power local industry. In the 1970s, a tourism group designed a tour through the caves, which includes an underground boat ride.
GNA