One person is missing after six people were rescued after a fishing boat in the Columbia River capsized on Wednesday
One person is missing after a fishing guide boat reportedly capsized in the Columbia River in Oregon on Wednesday. The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office and several other law enforcement agencies responded to a call around 11:30 am that a boat had capsized near the mouth of the White Salmon River.
Six people who were aboard the vessel were pulled from the water and taken to safety, reports Fox affiliate KPTV. According to the outlet, two of the people rescued were taken to the hospital. There’s no word on their condition.
Authorities have stated that the captain of the vessel is still missing. and that they will be bringing in additional resources to continue the search. The sheriff’s office has yet to release the names of those onboard the ship out of respect for the families.
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Investigators are still looking into what caused the emergency. According to investigators, the boat was a 24’North River fishing vessel and was last seen in the green navigation buoy near the White Salmon inlet. The Mirror US reached out to the Hood River Police Department for comment.
This is the most recent of a string of accidents that have happened at sea. It was reported earlier this month that a 12-year-old boy, who was on a Royal Caribbean ship headed toward Galveston, died after he fell from a balcony while allegedly “playing with new friends.”
Reports indicate that the Harmony of the Seas was on its last night when the child, who was on a family vacation to celebrate a birthday, fell from an upper-deck balcony into the ship’s Central Park area. According to witnesses, the boy had been playing with other children that he had met on the trip when the accident occurred.
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Royal Caribbean staff tried to resuscitate the child but were unable to do so. One passenger, whose daughter had become friends with the boy, wrote on Facebook about the boy’s death.
“My daughter was friends with him and said he was upset today, wrote Sara Tullas on a Facebook page for passengers. “She is so upset. I wish I would have known he was struggling today.”
A second passenger, Melissa Anderson, also commented that the cabin had been next to hers and was decorated with birthday items. “We were a few rooms down and saw undercover cops investigating the room this morning,” she commented. “Birthday decorations on the door and inside the room, with a chair pushed against the balcony.”
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A third passenger, identified as Becky Potter, also shed light on the weather conditions leading up to the tragedy. “It had rained that afternoon and the balconies were damp,” she commented. “It would be difficult to fall if you stand on the ground, but if on the chairs or wet table top anything is possible.”
Royal Caribbean confirmed that the death happened in a statement and that they were in contact with the family. The organization has remained tight-lipped about the incident though many horrified witnesses say the boy plummeted from Deck 14 to the Central Park atrium on Deck 8 at around 5pm.
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“We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of one of our guests. Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share,” a spokesman for Royal Caribbean told The Mirror US in a statement.
After the ship docked in Texas, passengers who were lining up to board the ship for the next crews were forced to wait as an investigation was carried out. The ship’s terminal was additionally shut down for several hours while a safety inspection was carried out.