TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — A boat parade in Texas in support of President Donald Trump went awry Saturday when law enforcement officials reported “many boats in distress,” according to reports.
According to a Travis County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, deputies responded to the boats in distress during the “Trump Boat Parade,” KVUE reported.
“Several boats did sink,” the sheriff’s office said in a tweet.
TCSO responded to multiple calls involving boats in distress during the Trump parade on Lake Travis. Several boats did sink.
— Travis County SO (@TravisCoSheriff) September 5, 2020
At least four boats sank at the event, The New York Times reported.
Deputies began receiving reports of sinking vessels around 2:20 p.m. EDT, according to KVUE. The sheriff’s office confirmed that boats in distress during the parade included vessels at Paradise Cove, West Beach, Point Venture and Hurst Creek, the television station reported.
“We responded to multiple calls of boats in distress, several of them sank,” but there are no reports of fatalities or injuries, sheriff’s office spokesperson Kristen Dark said.
No injuries or fatalities have been reported, Dark told KVUE.
“We had an exceptional number of boats on the lake today,” Dark told the Times. “When they all started moving at the same time, it generated significant waves.”
According to Christa Stedman, a spokesperson for Austin-Travis County Emergency Services, the sheriff’s office had responded to several boats.
MEDIA: #ATCEMS has not been involved in any of the boat sinking incidents on Lake Travis today. No injuries or medical emergencies have occured as the result of these incidents & #ATCEMS has not been requested to respond to any of them. If this changes, we’ll provide an update.
— ATCEMS (@ATCEMS) September 5, 2020
Firefighters pulled some people out of the water, Braden Frame, president of the Lake Travis Fire Fighters Association, told the Times.
“We train for water rescues regularly, but this is the first multi-vessel, multi-incident water rescue that we’ve responded to not precipitated by a collision,” Frame told the newspaper.
Supporters of the president had gathered on the lake for a parade Saturday morning and afternoon. According to a Facebook page for the event, more than 2,000 people were planning to attend, with another more than 5,000 “interested.”
Swamped boat near Emerald Point as hundreds of boats parade for President Donald Trump, at least three craft swamped with no injuries reported #statesman @bobphoto pic.twitter.com/eY3yyAXvyp
— bobphoto (@bobphoto) September 5, 2020
Similar parades have been held in Florida, California and Pennsylvania.
Cox Media Group
