3 dead, 5 injured in evening boat crash north of Kingston

Three people are dead and five others injured in what police are calling a "horrible" collision involving two boats on a lake north of Kingston, Ont.

Ontario Provincial Police say the crashhappened in the BuckBay area of Bobs Lakeafter 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. It involved "anopen bow fishing-style boat" and a speedboat, they said.

Emergency crews from surrounding regions, along with the 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron out of CFB Trenton, responded to the call around 9:45 p.m.

OPP said two of thosewho died, a 21-year-old woman and a 23-year old man, were from South Frontenac Township. The thirdwas a22-year-old woman from Elginburg, Ont., just outside Kingston.

All three were pronounced dead at the scene, OPP said.

Five other people aged between 21 to 44were taken to hospital in Kingston with a range of injuries. One of the patients was airlifted.

Police said they found other people at the scene who had beenon the boats, but they didn't need to be hospitalized.

"It's a horrible situation. There were still people in the water when first responders arrived," OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson said in a video update on X.

Frontenac OPP are investigating with help from a collision reconstructionist and members of the technical collision investigation team.

Bobs Lake is about 70 kilometres north of Kingston. People have beenasked to avoid the area.

'Very terrible, very tragic'

Anna McMillan was at home nearby when the crash happened, and said she'd never seen thatmany first responders descend on oneplace before in her life.

"I did not know what was going on [but I] figured it was something very terrible, very tragic," she said.

McMillan said she recognized the "very nice" speedboat involved in the crash, and thatone of the boaters had tooted his horn and waved at her from the lake earlier that day.

"I hope he's OK. We don't know anything, really. But it's just tragic and sad how fast something like that can happen," she said.

"It's a long weekend. It's supposed to be a happy time, a fun time. It's a beautiful, gorgeous day but there's a damper on everything because of the incident. Just very sad."

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The crash happened an hour after sunset, something boating instructor Craig Hamilton said increases safety risk.

"When you're operating at night, certainly it's a lot harder to pick out images," he said.

"[Boaters] have to understand that it is not just their own lives, but it's the lives of other people that they're responsible for."

WATCH | Boat collision on Ontario lake kills 3, injures 2:

3 dead after long weekend boat crash in Ontario

5 months ago

Duration 2:19

A boat crash on an eastern Ontario lake Saturday night has left three people dead and five others injured.