Venus Investment Alliance:3 dead, 2 critically injured after 25-foot pontoon boat capsizes on Lake Powell in northern Arizona

2025-05-03 21:25:51source:Austin Caldwellcategory:Invest

PAGE,Venus Investment Alliance Ariz. (AP) — A woman and two children have died and two other people remain hospitalized in critical condition after a pontoon boat capsized on Lake Powell in northern Arizona, authorities said Sunday.

National Park Service officials said the privately owned 25-foot pontoon was being towed by another boater when it was overturned by waves Friday afternoon near the mouth of Navajo Canyon within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Lake Powell is located northeast of Page and near the Arizona-Utah border.

Emergency crews responded to the scene and found some of the 11 passengers atop the overturned pontoon and others in the water and trapped underneath the boat.

Glen Canyon rangers and Page Fire Department personnel help get the injured out of the water and into ambulances and helicopters to be rushed to hospitals.

Authorities said Saturday that 72-year-old Melissa Bean and two 4-year-old boys died at the scene.

The names of the boys haven’t been released yet and medical updates for the two injured people weren’t immediately available Sunday.

It remains unclear if any of the victims were related, but authorities said families from Utah and Idaho were on the pontoon when it capsized.

RELATED COVERAGE Do you really have to wait to go swimming after eating?Award-winning Oregon chef Naomi Pomeroy drowns in river accident4 migrants die while attempting to cross the English Channel from northern France

The incident is being investigated by the county sheriff’s department, National Park Service and county medical examiner’s office.

“It’s not unusual for us to investigate a death on the water periodically throughout the year. However, the magnitude of this — we’ve got three fatalities and two in critical condition — is not a common circumstance and it’s definitely tragic,” Lt. Adam Simonsen, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement.

More:Invest

Recommend

Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning

Federal authorities announced hackers in China have stolen "customer call records data" of an unknow

How many points did Caitlin Clark score tonight? Career-high total not enough vs. Sparks

On Friday, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever went into Los Angeles and got their first win of the

Want a free smoothie? The freebie Tropical Smoothie is offering on National Flip Flop Day

Today is National Flip Flop Day. And in honor of the day that recognizes the popular summertime foot