Two 4-year-old children and a 72-year-old woman died after the pontoon they were on overturned last week on Lake Powell in Arizona, authorities said.
The 25-foot privately owned boat was being towed Friday by another boat near the mouth of Navajo Canyon in Glen Canyon National Recreation area when waves “contributed to the towed vessel capsizing,” the National Park Service and the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Lake Powell is near the Arizona-Utah border.
Eleven passengers were on board, and several became trapped under the vessel when it overturned.
Rangers saw a member of that group of boaters on top of the pontoon and others in the water, “with some of the party unaccounted for.”
Nearby boaters helped retrieve victims from the water. Two patients were flown by helicopter and the Page Fire Department ambulance for further medical treatment. A 12-year-old girl was in critical condition Sunday and a man had undisclosed injuries, The Associated Press reported.
Two 4-year-old boys died, along with a 72-year-old woman identified as Melissa Bean, authorities said. The names of the boys were not released.
All passengers were family members, The Arizona Republic reported.
The Glen Canyon NPS Rangers, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Page Fire Department responded with aid from Big Water Fire and Rescue and the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident is under investigation.
“The National Park Service and Coconino County Sheriff’s Office express their condolences to the families,” the release said.