Woman killed in Lake Powell boating accident; 2 others missing


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PAGE, Ariz. — One woman was killed and two other women were reported missing and presumed dead Thursday after an accident between a motorboat and a houseboat on Lake Powell.

National Park Service dispatchers at Wahweap Marina received a report around 8:15 a.m. about a boating accident near Dangling Rope Marina, said Kane County Sheriff's Sgt. Alan Alldredge.

Two people were flown from the lake by medical helicopter to a hospital in Flagstaff, Ariz., including the driver of the motorboat and an 11-year-old girl, Alldredge said. Both were conscious and their injuries were not life-threatening, he said.

A third person whose injuries were not life-threatening was transported to a hospital in Page, Ariz.

Others involved in the accident were transported to Wahweap Marina, Alldredge said.

The woman who died was 57 years old and was sitting in the front passenger seat of the motorboat. The missing women, ages 29 and 22, were also passengers in the motorboat, he said.

Thirteen people were on the motorboat at the time of the crash: seven adults and six children.

Alldredge said no houseboat passengers were injured.

The names of those involved were unavailable Thursday, pending notification of family members. Alldredge said most of those involved in the accident appear to be from northern Utah.

The collision took place in a channel a couple hundred yards wide, Alldredge said. The motorboat crashed into the houseboat and then overturned in the water, he said.

Officials are investigating whether the driver of the motorboat was distracted, Alldredge said. It was unknown Thursday evening whether the motorboat attempted to avoid the houseboat, he said.

“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 with the National Park Service, Utah State Parks and Kane County Sheriff's Office are collaborating on the investigation and the search for the missing people, he said.

Thursday's search for the missing women was called off for the night around 7 p.m. and will be continued in the morning. Email: kmckellar@deseretnews.com


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