PUEBLO, Colo. (KKTV) – One person is still missing after a boat capsized on Lake Pueblo Sunday night, killing one and injuring nearly a dozen others.
Eight children and five adults were on board the boat when a strong wind crossed the water at around 7.30pm and knocked it over. Meteorologist Luke Victor says the winds were part of an incoming front and exceeded 40 mph.
“At 7:37 tonight, our wildlife officers received a call in which a boat capsized near the North Shore area here on Pueblo Lake,” Travis Duncan told CPW. “When they responded, they found a large flat-bottomed boat overturned with 13 people on board.”
A woman died before aid arrived, presumably from drowning, although the county coroner will reveal the official cause of death. Eleven more were rescued from the water and taken to hospitals in the area.
“The water here is 60 degrees, so it’s very cold, so we’ll have them check for hypothermia,” Duncan said. “We had a kid who went on a flight for life tonight, so I was just worried about that and we keep checking it out.”
The 13th person on board is currently being sought.
“It’s 80-90 feet of water and we hope it’s a difficult search,” Duncan told 11 News.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is asking sailors to avoid the area on Monday while the recovery operation is underway.
ATTN Boaters @LakePuebloSP Please avoid the middle channel of Pueblo Lake between North Marina and Rock Creek Cove. @CoparksWildlife’s search and rescue team needs calm water to carry out their search. Sailors are reminded to give space to our patrol boats and search boats.
– CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 30, 2022
The missing person has only been identified as one of the adults on the ship. All children involved in the incident have been counted.
@LakePuebloSP UPDATE: Around 7:30 p.m., @COParksWildlife Rangers responded to a call for help for a boat capsized with 13 victims in 60-degree water. Rangers rescued 8 youths and 3 adults and recovered 1 body. The CPW search and rescue team is looking for a fifth adult. 1/2
– CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 30, 2022
The cause of the sinking of the ship is still being investigated. News meteorologist Luke Victor says winds of 40 to 50 mph crossed the lake around 7:30 a.m. Sunday evening when a front blew, but it is unknown if this played any role in the incident.
We will update this article as we receive more information.
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