Sudden Storm Flips Boat on Lake Tahoe, Leaving Six Dead
(MENAFN) A powerful and unexpected storm flipped a recreational boat on Lake Tahoe Saturday afternoon, claiming six lives, injuring two people, and leaving another two unaccounted for, according to U.S. Coast Guard and local officials.
The vessel, a 27-foot Chris Craft with a distinctive gold-colored hull, overturned near D. L. Bliss State Park around 3 p.m. local time (2200 GMT), reported Coast Guard District 11. There were 10 individuals onboard when the incident occurred.
Just before 5 p.m., the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office began receiving emergency calls. Rescue personnel from multiple agencies—including California State Parks and South Lake Tahoe Police—responded swiftly, retrieving six deceased passengers and transporting the two injured survivors to a nearby hospital.
Conditions on the lake deteriorated rapidly. The Coast Guard stated that wind speeds had surged to nearly 30 knots (about 56 km/h), accompanied by waves ranging from 1.8 to 2.4 meters at the time the boat flipped. Later, meteorologists recorded wind gusts between 64 and 72 km/h as the fast-moving storm system swept southward, significantly reducing visibility and dropping temperatures across the lake.
Rescue operations involved over a dozen divers, a helicopter, and a Coast Guard aircraft, which scoured the lake's frigid depths until nightfall. Efforts to locate the missing will resume early Sunday morning.
Authorities are currently withholding the names of those who perished until their families can be notified. Officials also urged members of the public who may have recorded video of the storm to share it with investigators.
The Coast Guard is looking into whether the boat’s weight distribution, potential mechanical problems, or failure to use life jackets may have worsened the situation. On Sunday, search teams are scheduled to deploy side-scan sonar to scan the lake floor, which drops to depths of up to 460 meters just offshore.
Officials warned that Lake Tahoe—known as one of the deepest alpine lakes in North America—can quickly take on the characteristics of the open sea when sudden mountain squalls strike.
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