Two women were killed and another is fighting for her life after a pontoon boat flipped on a Maine lake over Labor Day weekend.
Farhana Nasir, 53, and Kiran Akbar, 23, died in the tragedy after their group of seven were boating in the upper reaches of Flagstaff Lake around 1.30pm on Saturday.
According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife spokesperson Mark Latti, the bow of the 2024 18-foot Sea-Doo Switch Pontoon boat started to go underwater when the vessel was in front of the Cathedral Pines Campground beach area in Eustis.
The boat driver, John Morris, 50, tried to raise the bow, but the pontoon continued to sink before flipping.
The group was thrown into the water, which was about 180 feet from shore, and witnesses on the beach rushed in to help, according to Latti.
The pontoon’s bow started to go underwater when the vessel was in front of the Cathedral Pines Campground beach area in Eustis (pictured)
The group was flung from the 2024 18-foot Sea-Doo Switch Pontoon boat (pictured: stock image). Authorities said no one on the boat was wearing a life jacket
The Good Samaritans brought the entire group back to shore, but three of the women were unresponsive.
They performed CPR on all three of the women, but two of them, identified as 53-year-old Nasir and 23-year-old Akbar, died at the scene.
The third woman, 22-year-old Noor Nasir, was taken by LifeFlight to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, where she was said to be in critical condition.
Latti said that no one on the boat was wearing a life jacket. While the investigation is still ongoing, he said officials do not believe that alcohol was a factor.
According to the state’s website, Flagstaff Lake is relatively shallow with a maximum depth of 50 feet.