A ferry crash in Clearwater, Florida, resulted in the death of at least one individual and left many others injured. Local authorities have labeled the incident a "mass casualty event" and are currently investigating the crash.
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The Clearwater Police Department shared the news on
Facebook, revealing that the incident occurred on Sunday, April 27, at around 8:42 p.m. near the Memorial Causeway bridge. The boat crash involved a ferry that was carrying more than 40 people and a private boat. Allegedly, the boat crashed into the ferry while traveling at high speed.As a result, one unidentified person died, and six others were declared "trauma alerts." Out of those six, two of them were airlifted to local hospitals.
As per police, the incident was labeled a "mass casualty incident" by the local fire department because of "the number and severity of the injuries."
No information was made available by police other than that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation, alongside the Coast Guard, are currently investigating the crash.
Further Details
Rob Shaw, a public information officer with the City of Clearwater, revealed to ABC Action News that the other boat involved in the crash allegedly left the scene following the incident. As per the New York Post, the private boat was transporting six people.
"We believe the boat responsible for hitting the ferry left the scene immediately," Shaw told the outlet. "We believe our law enforcement partners are at another location with that boat right now, but we are still asking anybody who has information anyone that witnessed anything anyone that may have any video to contact us."
According to Shaw, a total of 45 people were aboard the ferry at the time of the crash. One of the victims is Brenda Alvarez, a 31-week pregnant woman. Alvarez told the outlet that she was heading to the hospital as she couldn't feel her baby move. She also pointed out that the private boat was traveling at a high speed before the crash.
"I fell between two seats, and my whole body hurts right now," Avlarez said. "We just wanted to get to our cars and get home. You never expect anything to happen. We can't understand how fast they were going. Like, how that was even logically possible that they hit and were able to get off like that."
Footage of the wreck shows the ferry with a caved-in roof and several chairs on top of each other.
Reportedly, the incident took place at the end of the 17-day Sugar Sand Festival. This meant that an increased number of people were taking the ferry to and from the festival.
A ferry and a private boat collided on Sunday, April 27, killing one person and leaving many with serious injuries in Clearwater, Florida.
