Accident happened Thursday morning near North Island Canal, Coast Guard says
Authorities with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office are investigating a boating collision Thursday morning on the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge that left one person dead.
Lt. Commander Jennifer Andrew, with the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in Lake Charles, said her office was notified of the accident about 8:30 Thursday morning.
The collision involved a 15-foot aluminum flat-bottomed boat and a 20-foot V-bottomed transport vessel, she said.
Two people onboard the commercial vessel, the Miss Debbie, were not injured. All three people onboard the 15-foot vessel were injured, including the one fatality, she said.
The accident occurred in Grand Chenier near North Island Canal, Andrew said.
“We’re in the process of doing a joint investigation with Wildlife and Fisheries,” she said. “As far as the collision, the investigation is ongoing at this time.”
Because the accident was not a search and rescue mission, the Coast Guard is not releasing the name of the person who died, Andrew said.
LouisianaSportsman.com will update this story as more information becomes available.
