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An 11-year-old girl in Michigan died Wednesday after she was struck by a boat that was retrieving children from the water who had fallen from an inflatable tube, according to state officials.
The incident occurred around 3 p.m. on Wednesday on Michigan's Lake Michindoh, near the shore of the Michindoh Conference Center, a Christian camp, Michigan's Department of Natural Resources wrote in a news release on Thursday.
The department said that a lifeguard was operating a boat that was pulling 12 children on a "banana boat," which is a "non-motorized inflatable tube people ride on pulled by a motorized boat." Three children fell from the banana boat into the water, and when the operator of the boat moved to pick up the children, "the vessel struck a fourth child, an 11-year-old girl, not previously seen in the water," according to the department.
"The man operating the boat immediately jumped into the water to help the child," the news release stated. After the child was taken to a dock, she was taken by first responders to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The children were all wearing life jackets and helmets at the time of the incident, and investigators don't believe drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.
"The boat operator has a Michigan boater safety certificate and is cooperating with the investigation," the news release added.
When contacted by Newsweek for comment, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said there is "no information or comments beyond what is in the release."
In a separate incident this week, a 7-year-old girl was killed after a tree fell on her family's tent during a camping trip in Tennessee. In a news release, officials at Great Smoky Mountains National Park said the girl was crushed by a large red maple tree that was around 2 feet in diameter. It's unclear what caused the tree to fall on Wednesday.
In another recent boating accident in May, a boat capsized on a lake in Colorado, resulting in 13 people falling into the water and at least one of them dying.
"When CPW Rangers arrived in a patrol boat, all 13 were in the 60-degree water. Rangers rescued eight juveniles and three adults. Rangers also recovered the remains of one adult. Rangers also launched an immediate search for another adult missing from the boat," Colorado Parks and Wildlife rangers at Lake Pueblo State Park said in a statement at the time.
In November, a man in California died when four jet skis collided under a bridge in San Diego Bay. The man died at the scene, while others involved in the four-way crash were taken to nearby hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
About the writer
Xander Landen is a Newsweek weekend reporter. His focus is often U.S. politics, but he frequently covers other issues including ... Read more