Several people were injured after a ferry carrying more than 40 passengers collided with another vessel near Clearwater, Florida, on Saturday, according to reports by CBS News.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene and declared the incident a mass casualty situation, as both police and fire teams mobilized quickly to assist the injured and secure the area.
According to the Clearwater Police Department, six individuals were classified as “trauma alerts,” with two seriously injured passengers airlifted to nearby hospitals for urgent medical care. Authorities have not yet released the full number of injuries.
The collision involved a Clearwater Ferry and a second boat, which authorities said fled the scene after the crash. All those who were hurt were passengers aboard the ferry, which eventually came to rest on a sandbar just south of the Memorial Causeway bridge — a popular connector between Clearwater and Clearwater Beach, a major tourist destination.
Police confirmed that all passengers, including those injured, were safely evacuated from the stranded ferry.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported that the second vessel involved was a recreational boat, but no additional details about the boat or its operator were immediately available.
Authorities are now conducting a full investigation to locate the fleeing boat and determine the exact circumstances surrounding the collision.
The incident has heightened safety concerns in the busy Clearwater waterways, especially during the peak tourist season.