Six people are confirmed dead and two are missing after a boat capsized in Lake Tahoe in California on Saturday during a powerful thunderstorm.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for the missing victims after searching more than 390 square miles for a combined 12 hours at the massive lake that straddles the California/Nevada border in the Sierra Nevada. Coast Guard Cmdr. David Herndon said in a statement: “Suspending a search is always a difficult decision to make and weighs heavily on each Coast Guard member involved. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those involved in the boat capsize.”
The 27-foot Chris-Craft boat sank after a storm caused 6- to 8-foot swells, NBC Bay Area reported, and was carrying 10 people. The U.S. Coast Guard and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office responded Saturday afternoon to D.L. Bliss State Park following reports of 10 people in the water, around 3 p.m. that day. Temperatures dropped dramatically from the high 50s to near freezing between 2 and 5 p.m.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that they “received multiple reports of a capsized boat in South Lake Tahoe. Callers indicated that approximately 10 individuals were in the water near the vessel, with reported wave heights reaching 8 feet.”
Of the 10 passengers, six were found dead, two were rescued and taken to the hospital, and two others are still missing, the Reno Gazette Journal. The ages and names of the victims have not been made public, but officials said that all six of the deceased were adults.
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