One dead after a tourist boat capsizes in a cave on the Erie Canal in New York state

() — A tourist boat capsized in an underground cave in the Erie Canal in upstate New York on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring 10 more, authorities said.

A total of 28 visitors belonging to a tour group and one staff member were aboard the boat operated by the Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride when it became unbalanced and capsized, throwing all passengers into the water, according to the Lockport fire marshal. , Luca Quagliano.

A man was trapped under the overturned boat and lost his life, Quagliano said at a news conference Monday. 16 people were rescued by emergency teams, while others were able to safely navigate out of the water, he added.

At least 11 people were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, including a broken arm and a possible head injury, Quagliano said. He noted that the boat could safely carry 40 people and that no one was wearing a life jacket at the time the boat capsized.

Several agencies responded Monday to the notice of an accident in Lockport, New York.

The boat was touring the Lockport cave, police said. Located about 20 miles east of Niagara Falls, near the US-Canada border, the Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride takes people along the Erie Canal through an underground cave.

“Embark on one of America’s longest underground boat tours along the Erie Canal and experience a journey of wonders,” their website reads. “Visitors are left in awe as they take a ride that has been described as ‘peaceful and eerie’, as the boat glides through the lifeless water, lit only by small, sporadically placed electric lights.”

The cave maintains a temperature of 12 degrees Celsius throughout the year. The water is between 1.5 meters and 1.6 meters deep, with some areas reaching 1.8 meters deep, Quagliano said.

The cave is just a small section of the Erie Canal, a historic 1825 civil engineering feat that created a waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

Lockport Police Chief Steven Abbott said authorities are treating the area as a crime scene for now as they continue their investigation.