One dead, several hospitalized after boat capsizes touring Lockport caves in New York
One person died and several were hospitalized Monday after a boat capsized during a cave tour in Lockport, New York, authorities said.
Lockport police and fire departments responded to the scene about 20 miles northeast of Niagara Falls at around 11:30 a.m. after the flat-bottom tour boat apparently became unbalanced and overturned, killing a man who got trapped underneath, officials said.
All 29 people on board − 28 passengers and a tour employee − were flung into water 5-6 feet deep toward the end of the ride in a tunnel, Lockport Fire Chief Luca Quagliano said at a news conference.
The name of the man who died was not released. Officials said his wife was one of 11 people taken to local hospitals, mostly with minor injuries.
The tours take visitors on an underground boat ride illuminated only by small lights.
What happened on the boat tour?
“The boat did a 180-degree turn, so the bottom of the boat was upright in the water,” Quagliano said. “A number of victims were on top of that boat initially when rescuers got to them.”
Quagliano said 16 passengers were rescued by crews with an inflatable boat, while others reached safety on their own.
“The water in the caves is super cold,” said Jeremy Swiatowy, 42, who watched as rescue workers breached the wall to the tunnel with a sledgehammer before squeezing through the hole to reach people inside.
Seven people were treated at the Eastern Niagara Hospital emergency room, spokesperson Patricia Kingston-Brandt said, adding later that six were discharged and the other one would be released in the evening.
"It's a very confined area, and any time a boat is capsized I can imagine there would be some related injuries," Kingston-Brandt said.
Nearby streets were closed to make room for rescue vehicles and crews.
Video footage from the scene outside the Lockport Cave office showed one person talking as she was loaded onto an ambulance. Others wrapped in white towels were being escorted to a bus as a steady rain fell.
The tunnel was blasted out in the 19th century to transport extra water from the Erie Canal to power nearby businesses.
Who was on the boat?
All of the passengers were hospitality employees from across Niagara County, according to Andrea Czopp, chief operating officer at Destination Niagara USA. The agency organized the outing as part of a familiarization tour, she said.
Nobody on board had a life preserver, authorities said. It was unclear whether they were required or offered.
Lockport Mayor Michelle Roman said tours on the motorboats have operated since the mid-1970s without incident.
What do you see on the tours?
A website advertising a "Lockport Cave & Underground Boat Ride" describes the experience as a 75-minute historic guided walking tour along the Erie Canal, located a 30-minute drive from Niagara Falls or Buffalo. Images of the tour show a small engine-powered boat in a dimly lit underground cave.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lockport is a city of about 21,000 residents in Niagara County, New York, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is located about 20 miles northeast of Buffalo.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: In Lockport, New York capsized boat leaves 1 dead, several in hospital
