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Two four-year-old boys and a woman died after their boat that was being towed capsized and trapped them while on an Arizona lake.
The heartbreaking incident occurred Friday afternoon at the mouth of Navajo Canyon on Lake Powell while a 25-foot privately owned pontoon boat was being towed by another boater, the National Park Service said in a news release. Waves in the water ultimately contributed to the towed vessel’s capsize, causing several of the 11 passengers to become trapped under the overturned boat.
Melissa Bean, 72, along with Gabriel Hart and Zeniff Cox, both 4, died in the tragedy, officials said.
The National Park Service says Glen Canyon National Recreation Area rangers responded immediately after receiving a call at 3.18 p.m. and found a member of the party on top of the pontoon boat and others in the water.
Nearby boaters also assisted in retrieving the victims out of the water.
Emergency medical attention was provided on scene by the rangers and the Page Fire Department, with two patients also taken by helicopter to the hospital, officials noted.
The three deceased belonged to the same family, according to a GoFundMe page set up to support the family, although it is unclear how they are related.
The Cox family said they lost “three beloved family members” in the “tragic boating accident” on Lake Powell on Friday.
“Our hearts ache as we grapple with this sudden and heartbreaking loss,” the page said.
In addition to the “unimaginable grief,” the fundraising page said other members of their family remain in hospital, including 7-year-old Audrey Cox.
She was taken by air ambulance from the scene and is currently in a medically induced coma in the ICU. Bean’s husband, Roland “Rock” Bean, is also in hospital and is receiving treatment for the injuries he sustained.
The fundraiser has raised over $40,000 toward its $75,000 goal and the family says they will be using the donations on funeral expenses for the young boys and Bean, medical bills for Audrey and support for the two sets of parents who have each lost their sons.
The National Park Service and Coconino County Sheriff’s Office “express their condolences to the families,” and both agencies continue to investigate the incident.
Lt. Adam Simonsen, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement that it is “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.”
