Survivors of a boat that capsized in a cave in Lockport, New York, are recalling the harrowing moments when the vessel overturned.
“I went under the water when it fully capsized, but I was on my way back up from being under the water and the boat literally landed on my head,” Elizabeth Morrissette, one of the passengers, told ABC affiliate WKBW.
Morrissette and spouse Daniel Morrissette were two of the 29 people on board a flat-bottom tour boat in the cave on Monday, 20 miles northeast of Niagara Falls, when the vessel became unbalanced and capsized, killing a man who was trapped underneath.
Eleven people, including the wife of the man killed, were taken to hospitals for mostly minor injuries. All on board were flung into the water toward the end of the ride in a tunnel, officials said.
Here’s what we know:
What happened to the tour boat?
Officials said the boat became unbalanced and overturned during the underground tour of a dimly lit cave at about 11:30 a.m. Monday.
Elizabeth Morrissette told WKBW the tour had reached a point where it would go back the way it had come and the tour guide told passengers they could turn around and face the other direction, but Morrissette said passengers didn’t feel comfortable with making that much movement.
“This boat is not fit to be turning around on,” Morrissette said.
Morrissette said the boat became unbalanced more than once during the tour, but tipped harder than before when it capsized. Morrissette jumped off the boat at that point and said that there was not much space between the boat and the wall of the cave.
“People are climbing on top of the boat to get out of the water because as soon as you hit that water with your chest your air is gone. It knocks the breath right out of you, you have nothing left,” Elizabeth Morrissette said.
Daniel Morrisette recalled a similar experience.
“By the time I realized what happened, the boat was on top of me and I couldn’t find any air pockets or anything. And I’m just trying to, like, breathe because I’m underwater,” Morrissette told Good Morning America in an interview that aired Tuesday.
Lockport Fire Chief Luca Quagliano said at a news conference that the passengers were flung into water that was 5- to 6-feet deep.
“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.”
The Lockport mayor’s office said there were no new updates on Tuesday morning. The Lockport Police Department and Fire Department did not immediately respond to questions about the investigation.
Who was on board the tour boat?
One tour employee and 28 hospitality employees from across Niagara County were on board the boat, according to Destination Niagara USA CEO Andrea Czopp.
Authorities have not released the names of the man who died or the other passengers. The person who died was “immediately trapped underneath the boat during the capsize and was deceased upon extrication,” according to a news release from the City of Lockport Fire Department.
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.
The fire department said in the release that a police officer who entered the water to help with the rescue was taken to an emergency room for hypothermia. A firefighter was also injured but remained on duty.
How were the passengers rescued?
The Lockport fire department said a team launched an inflatable rescue boat and paddled about 300 feet to reach the passengers. Rescuers also used sledgehammers and crowbars to break through a wall of the cave from the outside to reach the boat.
Quagliano said 16 passengers were rescued by crews, while others reached safety on their own by walking through the water back to the dock area.
Nearby streets were closed to make room for rescue vehicles and crews.
Boat that capsized was giving a tour along the Erie Canal
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 tunnel system was blasted out in the 19th century to transport extra water from the Erie Canal to power nearby businesses
Contributing: Grace Hauck and Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
