One individual was killed and a number of individuals have been injured when a ship struck the Clearwater Ferry in Clearwater, Florida, on Sunday night.
All the injured people have been individuals on the ferry, in response to the Clearwater Police Division.
There have been 45 individuals aboard the ferry, together with two crew members, when it was hit by a passing boat, police mentioned.
“It’s been declared a mass casualty incident by the hearth division as a result of variety of accidents. All native hospitals have been notified,” Clearwater PD wrote in a post on X on Sunday night time.
“A number of trauma alerts have been known as with helicopters transporting two of the extra significantly injured,” the submit continued.
First responders attended the scene are a crash involving the Clearwater Ferry resulted in a single fatality on April 27, 2025. The crash befell close to the Memorial Causeway bridge in Florida.
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The incident befell close to the Memorial Causeway Bridge in Clearwater. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg was notified at roughly 8:40 p.m., the Seventh Coast Guard District wrote on X.
The boat that struck the ferry fled the scene, Clearwater PD mentioned in a social media submit on Sunday night time.
After the crash, the ferry got here to relaxation on a sand bar simply south of the bridge. First responders and emergency personnel have been then capable of take away “all sufferers and passengers” from the ferry, police mentioned.
“We have been simply having fun with the journey, after which rapidly we hear the primary mate yelling, ‘Hey, hey, hey,'” one passenger told ABC affiliate WFTS in Tampa.
“After which we seemed again behind us and this huge yacht simply got here by the boat,” mentioned the passenger, who was using the ferry together with his two youngsters and his spouse, who’s 31 weeks pregnant with the couple’s third youngster.
The Coast Guard says there have been six individuals on board the leisure boat, which left the scene. Authorities mentioned it was later discovered by a responding company.
“The boat that fled the scene has been recognized by one other regulation enforcement company,” Clearwater PD mentioned. Nonetheless, additional particulars in regards to the second vessel concerned within the incident haven’t but been made out there.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee shall be taking the lead on the crash investigation, police mentioned.
