LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (KGO) — The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday night that the two survivors of the deadly Lake Tahoe boating accident were wearing life jackets.
Ten people were on board the 27-foot (8-meter) gold Chris-Craft vessel when it capsized Saturday afternoon near D.L. Bliss State Park on the lake’s southwest edge as the storm whipped up high waves, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.
The video above is from a previous report.
Josh Pickles, 37, of San Francisco, his parents, 73-year-old Terry Pickles and 71-year-old Paula Bozinovich of Redwood City, and his uncle, 72-year-old Peter Bayes, of Lincoln, died Saturday, according to a family statement.
The group was celebrating Paula Bozinovich’s birthday on her son’s boat, which he bought about a year ago, said Sam Singer, a family spokesperson.
Also killed were Timothy O’Leary, 71, of Auburn, California; Theresa Giullari, 66, and James Guck, 69, of Honeyoye, New York; and Stephen Lindsay, 63, of Springwater, New York, the coroner’s office said Tuesday.
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In a post on Facebook, the sheriff’s office said the two survivors who were wearing lifejackets were rescued by emergency personnel and were taken to the hospital.
Authorities say six of the victims were found on the surface near the capsized boat and were recovered on Saturday. However, two of the missing victims were both found in the days after at a depth of just over 300 feet.
The intensity of the thunderstorm surprised even forecasters, who had predicted 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 Monday. He said temperatures in the area were far below normal for this time of year, which could have contributed to the unstable air mass.
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Drowning and other accidental deaths occur each year on the lake but boating accidents with numerous fatalities are rare, said South Lake Tahoe Police Lt. Scott Crivelli.
There are an average of six deaths on the lake each summer, though there were a record 15 fatalities in 2021, he said.
“I can’t remember the last time there were eight dead at once and I have been here 16 years,” Crivelli said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.