72-year-old woman, 2 children dead after pontoon boat capsizes on Lake Powell in Arizona

Three people - including two young children - died after a pontoon boat capsized on Lake Powell in northern Arizona, authorities said this week.

The fatalities are the latest in hundreds of fatal boating accidents that occur each year across the United States.

A woman and two children died after a privately owned 25-foot pontoon was overturned Friday afternoon near the mouth of Navajo Canyon within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, according to the National Park Service and Coconino County Sheriff's Office. The vessel was being towed by another boater when waves contributed to the pontoon capsizing, authorities said in separate statements.

After receiving reports of an overturned boat at around 3:18 p.m. Friday, authorities discovered a passenger on top of the vessel and others in the water, "with some of the party unaccounted for," the National Park Service and sheriff's office said. The vessel had been carrying a total of 11 passengers and several became trapped underneath the overturned pontoon.

Nearby boaters helped get victims out of the water. Glen Canyon rangers and local fire personnel provided emergency medical attention at the scene.

Authorities said Saturday that 72-year-old Melissa Bean and two 4-year-old boys died at the scene. Two other patients were transported by helicopter and ambulance for further treatment.

The two injured victims — a 12-year-old girl in critical condition and a man being treated for undisclosed injuries — remained hospitalized on Sunday, authorities told the Associated Press. All passengers were related family members, the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.

The capsizing is the latest recreational boating accident to occur this year as millions of Americans flock to lakes and rivers across the country for the summer. Although recreational boating remains a popular activity, authorities and experts have warned of the potential dangers.

"Recreational boating is fun, but the water can be unforgiving," according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Thousands of boating accidents happen every year

Thousands of recreational boating accidents occur each year. In May, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that there were 3,844 recreational boating accidents in 2023.

Of those incidents, 564 were fatal and 2,126 were non-fatal injuries, according to the Coast Guard. These figures are a decrease from 2022, when the Coast Guard reported 4,040 accidents that caused 636 deaths and 2,222 injuries.

The primary contributing factors to accidents are operator inattention, inexperience, improper lookout, excessive speed and machinery failure, according to the National Safe Boating Council. Authorities and experts have noted that a majority of boating accidents are easily preventable by following safety measures.

The two deadliest safety failures are a lack of a required personal flotation device, such as a life jacket, and uneducated boaters, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Boating accident data has shown that when life jackets are a requirement, the number of drowning fatalities decreases.

In 2023, the Coast Guard said about 75% of fatal incidents occurred on vessels operated by individuals who had not received boating safety instruction and drownings accounted for about 75% of deaths, with 87% of those victims not wearing life jackets.

Common accidents include collisions with other boats and running into jetties, rocks and similar objects, as well as boats flipping or sinking, according to Kristen Frohnhoefer, president of Sea Tow, an international marine assistance provider headquartered in New York.

Other accidents include people falling overboard after striking the wake, not holding on to the boat properly and not being seated in safe spots, Frohnhoefer said.

"The most frequent event in fatal incidents involved events where people ended up in the water. A fall overboard, capsizing and cases where a person voluntarily departed a vessel accounted for over half of fatal incidents," according to Capt. Amy Beach, Coast Guard inspections and compliance director.

Other recent recreational boating accidents in 2024

A number of severe recreational boating accidents have occurred across the country in recent months, including:

• On Sunday, a 31-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man died after two vessels collided in the Tickfaw River in southeast Lousiana, WWL-TV reported. Authorities discovered a heavily damaged 25-foot pontoon boat and a capsized 25-foot Sea Fox boat at the scene.
• A 1-year-old to drowned after a boat capsized on Fontana Lake in North Carolina on Saturday, the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network reported. Eight people were on the vessel and three were being towed on a high-back tube when the boat capsized causing, according to authorities.
• Earlier this month, a 58-year-old man was killed and three others were injured after two vessels crashed into each other in Brooklyn, according to the New York Post.
• On June 23, a man was hospitalized after he fell overboard from a boat in Eagle Mountain Lake in north Texas, television station WFAA reported. A woman operating the boat reversed the engine and hit the man with the boat propeller, severely injuring him.
• First responders in south Florida told NBC Miami in early June that it has been a "tragic year so far" after a string of boating accidents happened in the area, including the hit-and-run death of 15-year-old girl in May. Two men also died in April after a boat and yacht collided near Boca Chita Key, according to NBC Miami.

Contributing: Grace Hauck, USA TODAY; Vivian Barrett, Arizona Republic