One person was killed on Sunday after a boat crashed into a ferry with 45 passengers and crew members, sparking a “mass casualty incident” in Clearwater, Florida.
In a Monday press release, the United States Coast Guard confirmed that Coast Guard Station Sand Key and multiple partner agencies responded to a “vessel collision involving the Clearwater Ferry and a recreational boat” on Sunday near the Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge. The Coast Guard noted that one person was killed in Sunday’s collision, while 12 other individuals were transported to local hospitals for medical care.
According to the Coast Guard, a crew member on the Clearwater Ferry notified Coast Guard officials at roughly 8:40 p.m. that the ferry had been “hit by a recreational vessel” and that there were “reported injuries” on the ferry. The Coast Guard said there were reportedly 45 individuals on the ferry and six individuals on the recreational boat at the time of the incident.
“We’d like to offer our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the deceased,” Cmdr. Fredrick Pugh, Chief of Response, Sector St. Petersburg, said. “Coast Guard investigative officers and FWC are working to determine the cause of the collision and verify the details leading up to the incident.”
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In a Sunday post on X, formerly Twitter, the Clearwater Police Department confirmed that police officials were responding with the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department to a boat crash that led to “multiple injuries.”
“It’s been declared a mass casualty incident by the fire department due to the number of injuries,” the Clearwater Police Department tweeted. “All local hospitals have been notified. Multiple trauma alerts have been called with helicopters transporting two of the more seriously injured.”
According to the Clearwater Police Department, the recreational vessel that crashed into the ferry on Sunday “fled” from the scene following the incident. The Clearwater Police Department also confirmed that the ferry “came to rest on a sandbar just south of the Memorial Causeway bridge” following the crash and that all of the passengers and patients had been removed from the boat as of late Sunday night.
“One person has died from injuries sustained in the crash,” the City of Clearwater said in a “final update” post. “There were 45 people on board the ferry at the time, including two crew members. The boat that fled the scene has been identified by another law enforcement agency. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be taking the lead on the crash investigation.”
