During the Fourth of July holiday, numerous significant boating events were recorded throughout Georgia, including an explosion on a boat on Lake Lanierthat that injured seven persons.
The Law Enforcement Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources reports that 13 watercraft events on the Fourth caused two fatalities and 18 injuries around the state.
Explosions rock Georgia waterways
The explosion of a 23-foot cabin cruiser during its towing at Landshark Cove on Friday night on Lake Lanier was one of the worst events. Two individuals were treated on the spot, while five others were admitted to the hospital.
Union County’s Lake Nottely was the scene of a second explosion on Friday. According to the DNR, the engine of a boat that had just refueled stalled while it was idling outside the no-wake zone. All seven passengers on board were hurt when the ship exploded as the operator tried to restart it. The boat sank after burning to the waterline.
A 19-foot boat unexpectedly burst on Wayne County’s Altamaha River the same day. When the ship caught fire, it was cruising in neutral. Before the blazing boat slid to the shore and sank, a nearby boater saved all three people. One person was slightly burned.
4-year-old, teens injured in separate incidents
An 18-year-old was struck by lightning while on a personal watercraft on Lake Blue Ridge in Fannin County. In stable condition, he was transported to Blue Ridge Medical Center.
A 13-year-old girl was swimming behind a ski boat on Lake Allatoona when she was struck by a boat propeller, resulting in a major damage to her leg. Before being taken to Kennestone Hospital, game wardens applied a tourniquet.
On Lake Allatoona, their boat overturned later that day, throwing four adults into the water. Two were saved by passing boaters, while two swam to land. There were no reported injuries.
A 4-year-old girl was saved from beneath an overturned pontoon boat on Lake Oconee in Putnam County. According to witnesses, during a big wave, passengers panicked and raced to one side, causing the boat to capsize. Before being transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the youngster was found underwater by a former lifeguard, who then performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
A 30-year-old guy who was thrown off a personal watercraft on Lake Sinclair also vanished in Putnam County. There was no life jacket on him. There is a continuous recovery effort.
More near-misses and one confirmed fatality
On Troup County’s West Point Lake, five people swam to safety after their boat started to sink after a fireworks display. Nearby members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rescued them all, who were all wearing life jackets.
A tragedy occurred in Wheeler County when a fisherman fell off a boat into a private pond and drowned. Sheriff’s deputies later recovered his body. Because it happened on private land, his death—which was the second boating-related death in Georgia on July 4—does not show up in DNR statistics.
On July 4, there were additional reports of two young people colliding on jet skis on Harris County’s Lake Harding, both of whom were unharmed, and a guy who was flung from his boat on the Chattahoochee River after striking a strong wake.
Two boats collided in the shallow, confined waters of Rattlesnake Creek in McIntosh County. Despite the damage to both vessels, no one was hurt.
Authorities continue to promote safe boating habits on Georgia’s waterways and attribute additional tragedies to life jackets.
