Latest news with #LakeLanier
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
7 injured after Fourth of July boat explosion on Georgia's cursed Lake Lanier
Seven people were left injured after a fiery boat explosion on Lake Lanier, a notorious body of water in Georgia where hundreds of others have perished, according to authorities. Of those hurt, five were hospitalized, including a child who was airlifted to a nearby medical facility following the blast. The incident occurred Friday, with first responders racing to the so-called cursed lake, located 60 miles north of Atlanta, around 7 p.m., according to 11 Alive. Police said the 23-foot cabin cruiser was heading for the Margaritaville resort at Lake Lanier Islands when it suddenly exploded. Video from the scene shows flames as high as five feet tall overwhelming the boat, sending thick plumes of black smoke over the nearby shoreline. 'The operator towing the boat rescued all seven people and took them to waiting paramedics at Margaritaville,' the state's Department of Natural Resources said in a statement. None of the victims have been identified and their exact conditions were not provided. They range in age from 5 to 45 years old, many of them suffering severe burns. Lake Lanier is a man-made body of water, built in the 1950s atop the once-thriving Black neighborhood of Oscarville. It was created by flooding valley communities, which contained a cemetery, a fact that has fueled beliefs that the waters are cursed. And while the Marine Corps at the time worked to remove and relocate the marked graves, experts speculate there were plenty of unmarked burial plots in the area. In the decades since, more than 200 people have died on the lake, with incidents ranging from boating accidents and drownings to explosions, according to state data. Locals have also reported strange disappearances, ghost sightings and even alien encounters. The tragedies and mysteries of the lake have recently been featured in the Netflix docuseries 'Files of the Unexplained,' as well as the Prime Video documentary 'Surviving Lake Lanier.' An investigation into the cause of Friday's blast is ongoing.
The Independent
05-07-2025
- General
- The Independent
Seven injured in Fourth of July boat explosion on Georgia lake
Seven people in Georgia were hospitalized on the Fourth of July after a boat explosion on Lake Lanier. Around 7 p.m., Hall County Fire Rescue responded to reports of the 23‑foot cabin cruiser ablaze on Landshark Cove. The incident, caught on video, sent flaming debris shooting into the air, with flames reaching almost five feet high. The seven people aboard the boat, which was being towed, sustained second or third-degree burns. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Hall County Fire officials, the victims ranged in age from 5 to 45 years old. "The operator towing the boat rescued all seven people and took them to waiting paramedics at Margaritaville," DNR officials said. Initial reports listed five injured, but that number later rose to seven as rescue crews assessed all passengers. Four injured people were transported to the Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, with one of those being airlifted. Another passenger was taken by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Alongside these hospitalizations, two other people received treatment and were stabilized on-site. Officials confirmed that all seven were in stable condition when they left the scene. Hall County Fire Rescue did not provide any further updates when contacted by The Independent on Saturday. Fire crews from Hall County and Gainesville quickly brought the flames under control using a portable pump and a marine rescue boat. After extinguishing the fire, responders towed the smoking vessel to shore. The Hall County Fire Marshal's Office has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the explosion. As of now, no official cause has been identified.
CBS News
05-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
Boat explosion on Georgia lake injures at least 5 people, officials say
A boat explosion Friday evening on popular Lake Lanier in Georgia left at least five people injured, officials said. Fire crews responded to reports of a boat explosion at about 7 p.m. ET to find a boat ablaze with 5-foot-high flames and five people injured at the scene, Hall County Fire Rescue said in a news release. Cell phone video showed black smoke and heavy flames billowing into the air from the boat, as boaters from several other nearby vessels looked on. Four of the patients were taken by ambulance to area hospitals, and the fifth was airlifted, the fire department said, adding that all patients were in stable condition as they were transported from the scene. Their exact conditions were not confirmed. The fire was extinguished using a portable water pump with the help of a Gainesville Fire Department rescue boat, Hall County Fire Rescue said. It has since been towed to shore. The cause of the fire is under investigation, the fire department said. The circumstances that led up to the explosion were still unclear. Lake Lanier is located about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. It is the largest lake in Georgia with a nearly 700-mile shoreline, and is one of the busiest lakes in the Southeast. Heading into the July Fourth weekend, local law enforcement told CBS News they were upping patrols on the lake, specifically monitoring for impaired boating. "We have to pay attention to what's going on around us all the time, even more so because of the dangers that come with not having any more officers," Sgt. Drew Long with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office told CBS News earlier this week. contributed to this report.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Yahoo
4 arrested at Lake Lanier after cocaine stash, CO2 canisters found in woods
Forsyth County deputies were investigating complaints of a party barge being too loud and maybe having drugs at Lake Lanier in early June. The sheriff's office marine units tracked down the boat, alongside the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, they found more than just a barge in the water. Instead, deputies said they found 25 people on board at the north end of Three Sisters Island. As DNR started a safety check, two men jumped off the boat and ran to the woods. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Police pushing for answers 2 years after teen killed while traveling with rapper in LaGrange Journalist in ICE custody after protest facing new charges in Gwinnett County Forsyth County Schools banning phone, device use by students starting Aug. 8 Deputies chased them down, saying the two had gone 'to stash some of their cocaine and CO2 canisters in the woods.' On the boat, deputies and rangers also found 'numerous' CO2 canisters, balloons used for whippets, or nitrous oxide better known as laughing gas, and 'more cocaine and multiple ecstasy pills.' The following people were arrested on drug charges, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office: 32 year old Ngoc Le of Norcross 27 year old Eric Le of Lawrenceville 36 year old Duc Bui of Duluth 28 year old Quoc Tran of Lawrenceville [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man drowns after jumping off boat at Georgia's Lake Lanier
Georgia officials said they have located the body of a man who jumped off a boat and into a lake wearing an unsecured life jacket. Witnesses saw Ramon Diaz-Soria, 27, leap into Lake Lanier in Forsyth County in the afternoon on Saturday, June 14, once the vessel came to a stop, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Law Enforcement Division. With his lifejacket improperly secured, Diaz-Soria went underwater, but only his lifejacket floated to the surface, prompting a search, the department said. The Hall County resident was with friends on a rental tri-boon boat, the drowning report shows. Family and friends told officials that he could not swim, according to the report. Officers searched for Diaz-Soria until it became dark, but they resumed their search in the morning on Sunday, June 18. Using sonar technology, officials located the body 60 feet below the surface by the evening, officials confirmed, adding that it has been sent to the local coroner's office. Diaz-Soria's death comes a month after a body police believe belonged to Dustin Valencia, a 43-year-old father of five children, was also found in Lake Lanier. The reservoir is the largest lake in Georgia, and it contains over 38,000 acres of water and more than 690 miles of shoreline. Diaz-Soria's younger sister, Aby, said her family is in complete shock over the tragedy and has set up a GoFundMe page for funeral expenses. "Ramon was everything to me. He wasn't just my brother — he was my best friend, my protector, and my biggest supporter. Anyone who knew him would tell you how kind, generous, funny, and full of light he was," Aby wrote on the fundraiser page. Aby urged everyone to keep her brother in their thoughts and hearts to "keep Ramon's memory alive." "I still can't believe he's gone — a piece of me is missing forever," she wrote. "This loss is truly beyond words. While nothing can ever fill the void he's left behind, we want to honor Ramon in the way he deserves." As of Tuesday, June 17, the GoFundMe fundraiser has raised more than $16,000. Between 1994 and 2024, more than 200 people have died at Lake Lanier, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Law Enforcement Division. In 2024, there were three drownings, 30 total boating incidents, 21 total injuries, and one boating fatality at Lake Lanier, the Georgia DNR's data shows. Suicides or medical events, including cardiac arrest and strokes, are not counted in any of the reported data. Lake Lanier drownings, deaths (2018-2024) 2018: 8 drownings, 11 total deaths 2019: 8 drownings, 11 total deaths 2020: 7 drownings, 10 total deaths 2021: 4 drownings, 9 total deaths 2022: 6 drownings, 7 total deaths 2023: 13 drownings, 13 total deaths 2024: 3 drownings, 4 total deaths Total: 49 drownings, 65 total deaths Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse/USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Body of man who jumped of boat at Georgia's Lake Lanier found
