Three people died after an airboat capsized in Highlands County, in south central Florida, in an accident that turned a routine outing on the water into a tragedy. According to authorities, the vessel began taking on water and went down, leaving several people struggling in the canal. The deaths made it one of the more serious recent water accidents in the region.
The trouble began when the airboat started taking on water in a deep section of a canal. As the boat filled and capsized, the people on board were thrown into the water, with little time to react. The depth of the water at that stretch of the canal added to the danger facing those who suddenly found themselves overboard.
In total, seven people went into the water when the airboat went down. The group was left to fend for itself in the canal as the situation unfolded, with some managing to reach safety while others could not. The number of people involved underscored how quickly a single accident on the water could put many lives at risk.
Of those who ended up in the water, four were able to swim back to shore. Their escape offered some relief amid the emergency, but it quickly became clear that not everyone had managed to get out. The focus then turned to the people who had not made it back to dry land.
Three of the people on board did not survive. In the early stages of the response, two had been confirmed dead while at least one other remained unaccounted for, prompting a search of the canal. As that effort continued, the toll from the accident rose to three lives lost.
The accident happened in Highlands County, a part of south central Florida crossed by canals and waterways near the Kissimmee River. Emergency crews were sent to the scene to assist the survivors and search the water, and authorities are expected to look into exactly how the airboat came to take on water and capsize.