A tour to show off the attractions of Lockport in western New York state to local hospitality workers went tragically wrong on Monday. One person was killed and 11 others were injured when a flat-bottomed wooden boat capsized in a tunnel during a tour of the Lockport cave, part of the Erie Canal system, the Buffalo News reports. Rescuers used a sledgehammer to smash a hole in the tunnel wall and reach people inside, reports the AP. Lockport Fire Chief Luca Quagliano said a man who "was initially stuck underneath the capsized boat" died of his injuries.
Officials said the victim is a local man in his 60s whose wife was injured in the accident. The AP reports that there were 29 people—28 hospitality workers and one tour staffer—on board when the boat overturned near the end of a 300-foot ride through the cavern system, where the water is 5 to 6 feet deep. Quagliano said some people were rescued and others made their own way out. He said 11 people were hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening, including a broken arm and a possible head injury, CNN reports. A police officer who spent a long time in the water was treated for hypothermia.
The Lockport cave, around 20 miles east of Niagara Falls, was blasted out in the 19th century to supply canal water as an industrial power source, per the AP. Lockport Mayor Michelle Roman said the Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride attraction has operated since the mid-1970s without incident. Lockport Police Chief Steve Abbott said investigators will look into why the boat, which was specially built for the attraction, flipped over, the Buffalo News reports. (More New York state stories.)
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