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As it happenedended

New York boat capsized – : One person dead after tour boat accident during cave tour along the Erie Canal

One person died and eleven others were injured when the boat capsized during Lockport Cave tour

Rachel Sharp,Andrea Blanco
Wednesday 14 June 2023 09:20 EDT
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Survivors of New York state boat capsizing share chilling story

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A tour boat capsized inside a cave 20 miles from Niagara Falls on Monday morning.

Lockport Police said that passengers were on board the Lockport Cave & Underground tour boat when it overturned around 11.20am. Multiple agencies were called to the scene to search for the passengers in the water.

Mayor Michelle Roman said during a press conference that one person was killed during the accident, according to Spectrum News. The name of the fatal victim was not released but authorities said he was in his 60s and his wife is recovering at hospital.

Twenty-eight passengers and one staff member were on board when the tour boat overturned. According to Lockport Fire Chief Luca Quagliano, sixteen people were rescued by boat after the wall outside the cave was breached.

The rest of the passengers walked out of the cave themselves as the water in the caves is around two to six feet in depth.

The individuals on board the boat were all locals participating in a free tour for hospitality workers.

Survivors of capsized Lockport Cave tour boat describe terror as they were thrown into Erie Canal

‘The boat literally landed on my head,’ Elizabeth Morrissette says.

The Independent has more:

Survivors of capsized cave tour boat describe terror as they were thrown into water

‘The boat literally landed on my head,’ Elizabeth Morrissette says

Andrea Blanco14 June 2023 11:00

Similar incident took place at Lockport Cave eight years ago

Eight years before a man was killed during a capsizing accident at Lockport Cave, a similar incident also left boat passengers scared for their lives. No one was seriously injured in that incident.

Sheri Scavone told The Buffalo News she and her then 15-year-old were onboard the historic tour boat when it overturned in September 2015.

“We were incensed. I was like, ‘You have got to be kidding me.’ It was exactly the same thing,” Ms Scavone said about finding out about the capsizing on Monday.

“[My son] will not go into anything like a cave or a closed-in area.”

One man died and eleven others were left injured in Monday’s tragedy.

Andrea Blanco14 June 2023 13:00

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