Three people were killed after a pontoon boat carrying six people collided with a commercial barge on Lake Pepin, a naturally widened section of the Mississippi River that borders Minnesota and Wisconsin, authorities said.
The collision occurred at around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, when the Pepin County Sheriff’s Office received multiple 911 calls reporting people screaming for help from the water near YMCA Camp Pepin on Deer Island in Pepin County, Wisconsin.
When emergency responders arrived, they found an overturned pontoon boat just offshore. Three survivors were clinging to the vessel and informed rescuers that three other occupants were missing. A large-scale search involving more than a dozen agencies from Minnesota and Wisconsin was immediately launched, using rescue boats, dive teams, drones, helicopters and sonar equipment.
After hours of searching, authorities recovered the bodies of the three missing boaters on Sunday. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office in St. Paul for autopsies. Their identities have not yet been released pending notification of their families.
Pepin County Sheriff Joe Wener said preliminary findings indicate the pontoon overturned after colliding with a commercial barge. Investigators have not disclosed what caused the collision or whether weather, speed, visibility or alcohol played a role. The U.S. Coast Guard and state authorities are assisting with the investigation.
Officials said one of the three survivors sustained injuries, while the other two were believed to be in fair condition and did not require hospitalization. Authorities have not released additional details about their conditions.
The incident occurred near YMCA Camp Pepin, but officials emphasized that no campers or camp staff were involved in the collision. Law enforcement also asked the public to avoid the search area while emergency crews carried out recovery operations.
The investigation into the fatal boating collision remains ongoing, and authorities are expected to release more information after completing witness interviews, vessel inspections and forensic examinations.
