LOCKPORT, N.Y. — One person has died and several suffered minor injuries after a tour boat capsized at the privately operated Lockport Caves tourist site on Monday. It's located adjacent to the Erie Canal in downtown Lockport.
tourist site on Monday. It's located adjacent to the Erie Canal in downtown Lockport.
Lockport Fire Chief Luca C.P. Quagliano said there were about 28 passengers and one boat operator on a small tour boat with benches when the boat became unbalanced and capsized in a 300-foot water section of the underground man-made cavern. Life vests were apparently not required in the cavern. Officials say the boat can normally carry up to 40 people.
All 29 were ejected from the boat and landed in the water. Authorities received a call around 11:30 a.m. and responded within minutes. EMS responders launched inflatable boats and breached through the side of the cave with a sledgehammer. They rescued 16 while the others were able to wade through the five-to-six-foot water to safety. Eleven were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from a broken arm to hypothermia from the 55-to-60 degree water.
Responders were unable to reach one man, approximately 60 years of age, who died after being stuck under the boat for an hour.
“It did take some time to get him recovered back to a safe location,” Lockport Fire Chief Luca Quagliano said. “Unfortunately, he had succumbed to his injuries.”
One police officer was taken to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia after being in the water for so long to help rescue the victims.
All the passengers were adults who are event and tour planners and they were taking part in a tour with the Destination Niagara regional tourism agency to learn more about attractions in the area.
“It's been an attraction since the 70s without incident,” said Andrea Czopp, COO of Destination Niagara USA.
The original structure was built back in the late 1800s as a hydraulic power source for equipment. It was opened as a tourist attraction in the mid-1970s and has operated on and off since then without incident according to Lockport officials. They did not identify the owner of the property.
Several agencies assisted Lockport Police and Fire with rescue efforts.
According to the New York Upstate website, the water in the caves is around 2-4 feet in depth, but Chief Quagliano says there are some spots that are up to five to six feet deep.
Streets in the area were closed to allow rescue vehicles to access the area.
Police say this is being treated as a crime scene and they are still investigating along with state agencies, OSHA, and eventual involvement from the NTSB.
“We have one individual who has passed,” said Lockport Police Chief Steven Abbott. “We have a whole lot of questions that need to be answered. ... Whether or not that leads to charges in the future, I do not know.”