Swamp Tour Boat Capsizes
An airboat carrying 16 tourists through the swamps here capsized Saturday evening, critically injuring three aboard, authorities said.
The accident occurred in the swamps surrounding Lake Salvador, about 22 miles south of New Orleans.
Jefferson Parish sheriff’s spokesman Col. John Fortunato said all passengers and the captain were found and taken to hospitals in the New Orleans area, where three were in critical condition.
Tourists flock to the swamps to see wildlife that includes alligators -- often drawn into sight by chicken meat dangling from poles on the boats.
The capsized boat -- a flat-bottom aluminum vessel powered by a large fan mounted on the stern -- belongs to Louisiana Swamp Tours. Company owner Milton Walker Jr. rushed to the scene Saturday evening.
“I’ve always felt as though we’ve been safe in operation,” he said. “I never thought something like this could happen.”
The Coast Guard-certified tour boat, operated by a licensed pilot, apparently flipped in shallow water, Walker said.
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