Three Boy Scouts were electrocuted and killed after their sailboat hit a power line, officials said.
Three Boy Scouts were killed after their sailboat collided with an overhead power line, Texas officials said.
Eagle scouts Will Brannon, 17, and Heath Faucheux, 16, were sailing a catamaran with fellow troop member Thomas Larry, 11, on the Lake O’ The Pines in East Texas around 1 p.m. on Saturday when a jolt of electricity ran through the boat.
« Preliminary investigations and observations indicates the vessel, a Catamaran sailboat, collided with an overhead transmission power line and those onboard may have been electrocuted as a result, » the Texas Parks and Wildlife said in a statement.
The boat, which had a 30-foot mast, was on fire, 300 yards away from the power lines when game wardens arrived at the scene.
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Brannon was still onboard, while Faucheaux’s body was recovered in the water a short distance away. Both victims « suffered severe bodily injuries » and were pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said.
Larry was unresponsive when he was found in another boat nearby.
The 11-year-old was airlifted to the LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana and put on life support before he died on Monday.
The two Eagle Scouts were mentoring Larry during an officially sanctioned scouting event with Troupe 620 of Hallsville.
Brannon’s father is the troupe’s scoutmaster while Faucheaux’s father served as assistant scoutmaster. All three boys were wearing life jackets at the time.
The tragedy sent shock waves through their hometown, located about 140 miles east of Dallas.
More than 300 people turned up for a candlelight vigil on Sunday night to pay tribute to the two teens, and a GoFundMe page set up for Larry raised more than $14,000.
« This is an extremely difficult time for our Scouting family, » the Boy Scouts of America’s East Texas Area Council Chief Executive Dewayne Stephens said in a statement on Saturday.
« Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families. We will support them in any way that we can, » he said.
Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted, « A terrible tragedy. Our thoughts & prayers go out to the Boy Scouts & their families. »
An investigation by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is ongoing.
