Two New York women were killed and several other people injured after an 18-foot pontoon boat flipped on Flagstaff Lake in Eustis on Saturday.
The accident occurred around 1:30 p.m. near the Cathedral Pines Campground, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The pontoon was traveling with seven people on board when the bow started to dip underwater. The driver, 50-year-old John Morris of Eustis, unsuccessfully attempted to raise the bow, and the boat flipped, throwing all seven passengers into the water 180 feet from shore. None were wearing life jackets.
Witnesses rushed to assist the passengers and were able to get all seven back to shore. Three of the passengers were unresponsive and had CPR performed on them.
The victims were identified as 53-year-old Farhana Nasir, of Selden, New York, and 23-year-old Kiran Akbar, of Lake Grove, New York.
Noor Nasir, 22, also of New York, is in critical condition at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, according to an initial investigation. The crash remains under investigation.
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