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Third Boy Scout Dies From Electrocution When Boat Hits High Power Line [Update]

By Roz Zurko
Published on: 09:43 PST, Aug 7, 2017

Three Boy Scouts are now dead after the sailboat they were in collided with an overhead power line on Saturday. Two of the boys died on the scene, but a third was airlifted to a hospital, where he died on Monday.

The two boys who died on the scene were ages 17 and 16, and an 11-year-old boy was hospitalized. It was the 11-year-old who succumbed from his injuries today.

According to Fox News, authorities said that the 17-year-old boy was found dead on the sail boat, and the 16-year-old was pulled from the water dead. Authorities did not immediately release two of the boys’ names over the weekend until their relatives had all been notified. They have been identified to reporters today as Will Brannon, 17, and Heath Faucheux, 16. The 11-year-old boy was identified as Thomas Larry when he was hospitalized on Saturday, according to USA Today.

CBS News reports that the accident happened on Saturday afternoon while the Boy Scouts were sailing on Lake O’ the Pines, which is located about 150 miles east of Dallas in Avinger, Texas.

The boys were from Troop 620 out of Hallsville, according to CBS News. All the boys on board the boat were wearing floatation devices, authorities report. When the game wardens arrived at the scene, they found the catamaran the boys were sailing in with its sails up and on fire.

A spokesperson for the Boy Scouts, Steve Lightfoot, said that the investigation is in its preliminary stages, but it is indicated that the boat came in contact with a power line. According to USA Today, the game wardens found the catamaran with its sails up about 300 yards north of the power line.

Captain Quint Balkcom of the Texas Parks and Wildlife called the scene “absolute chaos.” He continued by saying that this was a “terrible event, it absolutely is.” The two boys who were found dead at the scene had “severe bodily injuries,” according to the game wardens.

Good Samaritans had taken the 11-year-old boy on their boat, and they were administrating CPR when the first responders arrived. Once he was admitted to the hospital, a test for brain function indicated the prognosis wasn’t very good, according to USA Today. The 11-year-old died today.

The boat has since been impounded so the investigators can get “a full picture of what happened in this horrendous event,” said Rob Walker. Walker is the general manager of Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative, the company that is helping with the investigation.

[Featured Image by photoboy/Shutterstock]

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