Tour boat sinks in New York lake, killing 21

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. -- Twenty-one people, most of them senior citizens, were killed when a small tour boat capsized yesterday on Lake George in upstate New York, possibly after being struck by the wake of another passenger boat, authorities said.

More than two dozen survivors clung to the capsized boat for several minutes before it sank in the calm waters. Authorities said rescue boats arrived at the frantic scene within minutes of the accident. By that time, boaters on the lake were pulling people out of the water, witnesses said.

Twenty-seven people were rushed to nearby Glens Falls Hospital. A spokesman for the hospital said the injured patients were mainly distraught, cold, and wet. Some had broken ribs and others complained of shortness of breath. Five were admitted.

The 40-foot, glass-enclosed boat called the Ethan Allen was carrying a group of seniors from the Trenton, Mich., area on a clear, summer-like day when it overturned, sending passengers tumbling into the water. The seniors, many of whom had wheelchairs and walkers, were on a foliage tour run by a Canadian company based near Trenton, investigators said.

Officials said the Ethan Allen, which had 49 passengers aboard, overturned just before 3 p.m. on the lake, which is about 50 miles north of Albany in the Adirondack Mountains.

''We believe that they hit the wake of one of the large cruise boats," Sheriff Larry Cleveland of Warren County said, but added that other explanations were being explored. He said the accident happened so quickly that many passengers were unable to put on life jackets.

Witnesses and authorities said the Ethan Allen was turning left when it was hit by the wake of a larger boat, which was not immediately identified. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board were to join the investigation today. Some witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from the boat just before it sank.

The dead were lined up on the shore as officials worked to call family members and secure the scene. ''We were helping bring blankets, and we were pushing the elderly out of the boat," Andrea Sause, a witness, told CNN. ''They were frantic, and a lot of them had chest problems."

''We realized a boat had tipped over, and there were these people in the water," Joanne Rahal told CNN. Rahal was on her own boat at the time. ''A lot of them had life jackets. Some of them didn't, so we were trying to throw life jackets and get people on our boats as quick as possible."

Adult boat passengers are not required to wear life jackets under New York law.

Rahal said some people were trapped under the boat. All the passengers were accounted for by 5 p.m., Cleveland told reporters.

Richard Paris, the captain of the boat, survived. He was the only crew member aboard and is considered a very experienced pilot, Cleveland said.

''When something like this happens, people come up to help," Cleveland said. ''We have numerous reports of pleasure boats getting people out of the water, including the captain."

Frank Sause, a motel operator who went to the lake after hearing sirens, quoted one survivor brought to shore as saying, ''That's my wife, she's dead." A temporary morgue was set up at a campground.

The Ethan Allen, which was operated by Shoreline Cruises, was about 5 miles from the village of Lake George and 50 to 100 feet from shore when the accident happened.

''It is a tragedy," Shoreline owner Jim Quirk told the Glens Falls Post Star as he paced up and down the lakeside walkway near his business. Several local residents said the tour boat company had a good reputation with no known serious accidents and that nothing of the sort had occurred on the lake in memory. At the time of the sinking, the weather was clear and in the 70s. The water temperature was 68 degrees.

''This was as calm as it gets," said Jerry Thornell, a former Lake George Park Commission patrol officer and an officer for the county sheriff's department.

McGrath reported from Lake George and Robertson from New York City. Material from the Associated Press and Reuters also was included.