A person is dead and several people are injured after a boat crashed with a ferry in Clearwater, Florida, Sunday night, authorities said.
Ferry Clearwater took 45 people when a boat hit him and fled, said the city of Clearwater in a statement. The ferry stopped in a sand bank under the causeway bridge.
“We believe that the boat responsible for hitting the ferry abandoned the scene immediately, and we believe that our law partners can have that boat,” said Clearwater police spokesman Rob Shaw.
A person died of wounds suffered in the collision, said the city.
It was not clear immediately how many people were injured, but the police said the injured were all passengers.
All were removed from the ship, police said.
The city said the ship fleeing has been identified and that the Florida Fishing and Wildlife Conservation Commission will lead the investigation.
Two seriously injured passengers were transferred by helicopter to the hospitals, said the Police Department. Bayfront Hospital received a patient with a femur fracture and another with unknown injuries, said Orlando’s health spokesman.
The Clearwater fire department declared that the accident is a “incident of mass victims” because many people were injured. Shaw said there were six trauma alerts.
Shaw said that officers are still working to give an account of all the people who were in the Ferry, but said he thinks everyone has been rescued.
The Clearwater police are leading the investigation with assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office. The Coast Guard is on the scene, he said in X.
A Ferry Clearwater spokesman confirmed that the ship was in an accident on Sunday, but refused to provide more information, citing ongoing research.
Clearwater is about 23 miles northwest of St. Petersburg.
