Georgia DNR update: Multiple drownings, another boat fire over July 4th weekend
Rocky Shoreline Of Lake Allatoona At Red Top Mountain State Park, Georgia, USA. (Photo By: MyLoupe/UIG Via Getty Images)
GEORGIA - The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is having a busy weekend with boaters out enjoying the water for July 4th. The DNR released an update Sunday to report what happened Saturday on the water across Georgia.
Big picture view:
In total, five people have died on Georgia waterways this holiday weekend – three in drownings and two from other causes. The DNR reported 19 injuries on the waterways, 17 boating incidents and wardens issued 40 boating under the influence citations.
Lake Lanier had 10 BUIs between Friday and Saturday. It also had a boat explosion that injured seven people on Friday.
Lake Allatoona had four BUIs, two incidents and one injury.
West Point Lake had one drowning, one death and two total incidents between Friday and Saturday.
Dig deeper:
A person drowned in West Point Lake while swimming at Horace King Access. Game wardens responded to the dock just before 9 p.m. Saturday. Officials said 21-year-old Marquis Rice went under the water and never came back. Wardens located the swimmer's body about 10 to 15 feet from the dock an hour and a half later using sonar.
A man died after water-skiing on West Point Lake on Saturday. The DNR said wardens responded to Wehadkee Creek around 6:45 p.m. Saturday. The 62-year-old skier had been removed from the water and put on a boat, which took him to Glass Bridge Park. Paramedics performed CPR on the man and took him to Wellstar Hospital in LaGrange, where he later died.
A dock, boat and personal watercraft were burned to the waterline after an electrical issue sparked a fire in Hart County. The fire was reported on Lake Hartwell around 1 a.m. Saturday. No injuries were reported in the fire.
A teenager drowned on the Ocmulgee River in Jasper County on July 5. The 15-year-old went under the water just before 5:30 p.m. Saturday and never resurfaced, according to the DNR. Wardens found the teen's body almost three hours later using sonar.
A man is recovering after being injured while on an electric hydrofoil surfboard on Lake Oconee. Wardens said the man was riding the efoil around 7 p.m. when he fell and cut his head. He was taken to a hospital in Athens for treatment.
A 4-year-old girl was critically injured when the pontoon boat she was on capsized on Lake Oconee on the Fourth of July. Officials say she was found under the boat during the rescue attempt.
A sailboat overturned at the St. Andrews Sound at Little Cumberland Island in Camden County. The DNR said Camden County Marine Units and the National Park Service were able to rescue two people stranded when the boat flipped. The boat was a total loss.
One man drowned after he and another person fell off a jet ski during a trip to Lake Sinclair on the Fourth of July. Crews have recovered his body after a two-day search.
Dig deeper:
Several other boating incidents took place on July 4th, including a boat explosion on Lake Lanier and Lake Nottely.
The Source: Information in this article came from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and past FOX 5 reporting. It was updated to add the name of the man who drowned in Troup County. The sheriff's office provided FOX 5 his name.