A boat carrying four people, including two boys ages 5 and 7, careened off a dam on the Colorado River and became wedged near the bottom, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The boaters were rescued Friday and two of them, including one child, were airlifted to a nearby hospital, Coast Guard spokesman Adam Eggers said. He did not know their names or conditions.
The recreation-style boat submerged into whitewater-speed rapids after going over the falls near Bay City, Eggers said. The Coast Guard’s Houston office received a call from the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office before sunset Friday requesting help for the boaters.
“Our best guess is that they either lost steering or their engine died,” he said. “If your engine dies, there’s no way to stop yourself from going over the dam.”
The dam is 40-feet high, not 150-feet high, contrary to initial reports, NBC’s Houston affiliate KPRC-TV reported.
A Coast Guard helicopter rescued the boys first before going back for the men. The two not airlifted were treated near the scene, Eggers said.