Unsettling fresh images of the ferry that was damaged in a collision with a private boat and the survivors being escorted to safety show that at least one person has died and twelve more have been hurt.<\/p>\n
As they worked through the night to rescue people ashore, the US Coast Guard and police quickly deemed the Sunday night catastrophe a \u201cmass casualty event.\u201d<\/p>\n
A private boat carrying six persons struck the Clearwater Ferry as it was transporting festivalgoers to and from the last night of the 17-day Sugar Sand Festival.<\/p>\n
When the ferry, which was carrying 43 passengers and two crew members, was forced to stop on a sandbar close to the Memorial Causeway bridge, that boat quickly left the area.<\/p>\n
The impact of the crash caused plastic chairs to fall in on themselves, and parts of the small ferry\u2019s top were completely destroyed, as shown in the astounding photographs.<\/p>\n
Other photos showed courageous first responders standing on the sandbank, assessing the ship, and escorting passengers to safety on shore.<\/p>\n
Six passengers in all were referred to as \u201ctrauma patients\u201d and taken to different hospitals throughout the state.<\/p>\n
The two medical helicopters that came to help had to airlift two of them to the hospital.<\/p>\n
Ten ambulances and emergency service vehicles reacted to the first call, hurrying to the scene with their lights flashing and sirens blasting as information about the disaster began to leak. These vehicles evaluated and treated the remaining passengers.<\/p>\n
Late on Sunday evening, the Clearwater Police Department released a message asking drivers to stay off Memorial Causeway as they transport victims to different hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working a boat crash off the Memorial Causeway bridge that has resulted in multiple injuries,\u201d police said in the statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been declared a mass casualty incident by the fire department due to the number of injuries. All local hospitals have been notified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple trauma alerts have been called with helicopters transporting two of the more seriously injured.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u2018boat that impacted the ferry departed the scene\u2019 following the collision, according to police. Upon its eventual discovery, the boat carried six people, all of whom escaped unharmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that the boat responsible for hitting the ferry left the scene immediately, and we believe that our law enforcement partners may have that boat,\u201d Clearwater Police spokesperson Rob Shaw said.<\/p>\n
Several photos seem to show the time an investigator escorted the accused boat driver from the Belleair Boat Ramp south of the crash scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were \u2018hit from behind,\u2019\u201d Marco Vacheco, one of the ferry passengers, told 10 Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like a big yacht, it hit from behind, like it came through where the captain sits, like he was pinned down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
She \u2018hasn\u2019t felt the baby move\u2019 since the crash, and his pregnant wife Brenda Alvarez told ABC Action News she was on her way to the hospital to be checked out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a little worried I haven\u2019t felt the baby move. It\u2019s very scary.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the crash happened, Alvarez, who was traveling with her husband and their two kids, slipped between two seats. She claimed that her \u201cwhole body hurt\u201d from the collision.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just wanted to get to our cars and get home. We never, you never expect anything to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
She continued by stating that it\u2019s challenging to fully understand \u201chow fast [the other boat] was going, how that was even logically possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s horrible. It shattered, it shattered the whole back of the boat, left a huge dent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Alvarez, however, gave credit to emergency personnel who courageously hurried to help her kids get off the vessel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere we were, it was really shallow, so there was actually some paramedics that went out there and helped my children and I get off the boat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In an emergency, up to 12 victims are believed to have been sent to various hospitals, and more are currently undergoing immediate assessment.<\/p>\n
All injured patients were on board the ship when the accident occurred.<\/p>\n
One horrified onlooker took to X moments after the crash, revealing, \u201cA regular boat just hit the ferry in Clearwater. I think over 4 helicopters airlifting people out so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even know how many ambulances are there. Every minute there\u2019s more and more. This is awful.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to police, emergency personnel had accounted for all passengers and patients on the ship by approximately 10.30 p.m.<\/p>\n
The crash will be investigated by the US Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and US Coast Guard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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