The body of the final missing individual from a capsized boat on Lake Tahoe, California, during a sudden and intense weekend thunderstorm, was recovered on Monday, raising the death toll to eight.
There were ten people aboard the 27-foot (8-meter) gold Chris-Craft vessel when it overturned Saturday afternoon near D.L. Bliss State Park on the lake’s southwestern edge as the storm stirred high waves, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials.
Two people were swiftly rescued and hospitalized, though their conditions were not disclosed. Six bodies were retrieved later on Saturday, and a seventh was located Sunday evening, stated the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. Divers continued their search of Lake Tahoe and discovered the final body on Monday afternoon.
The names of the victims won’t be released until family members are notified, Sgt. Kyle Parker said.
Drowning and other accidental deaths have occurred in recent years on the lake, but boating accidents with numerous fatalities are rare. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department told KCRA-TV in 2022 there are an average of six deaths on the lake each summer, though there were a record 15 fatalities in 2021. The department couldn’t immediately provide updated numbers.
The intensity of the thunderstorm surprised even forecasters, who had predicted some rain but nothing like the squall that lashed the southern part of the lake around 3 p.m., said meteorologist Matthew Chyba with the National Weather Service office in Reno, Nevada. Winds topped 35 mph (56 kph) and waves swelled up more than 8 feet (2.5 meters).
“We weren’t expecting it to be so strong,” Chyba said.
He said temperatures in the area were far below normal for this time of year, which could have contributed to the unstable air mass.
Eight-foot waves on Tahoe is “pretty significant,” Chyba said. “They were really rocking the lake.”
Lake Tahoe is a popular summer recreation destination for boaters, kayakers and paddleboarders. The pristine lake with very cold water straddles California and Nevada and is one of the deepest in the country, second only to Oregon’s Crater Lake.
Officials haven’t shared any details about the group on the boat that capsized, or said whether the vessel was rented or owned.
Saturday’s storm cleared out within about two hours.
Brittany Glick was on a rented pontoon boat with seven others celebrating a friend’s bachelorette party Saturday when the wind began picking up and the waves started getting bigger. The day had started sunny but suddenly the temperature dropped and there was almost no visibility, Glick said Monday.
“It felt like we were in a tsunami that was starting. I have never experienced anything like that,” she said.
As the boat returned to the dock after about an hour of navigating increasingly choppy waters, soaking the passengers, it started to hail.
“We were shaken up seeing all the boats flipped,” Glick said. “And being drenched in that water, we were so cold. We were shaking uncontrollably. Our feet were numb, and our toes were turning blue. That was probably one of the scariest moments I’ve had in my 30 years. The storm came in so quick. It was terrifying.”
Video obtained by KCRA-TV showed moored boats at a nearby marina crashing into one another amid strong gusts.
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Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press reporters Christopher Weber and Jaimie Ding contributed from Los Angeles.
