A broken steering wheel caused a boat filled with birthday party celebrants to flip near Trout Creek on Saturday afternoon.
A man identifying himself as the father of one of the boys on the boat said the excursion was part of a birthday party.
“My son was involved in this incident. It was his best friend’s 13th birthday and they took the boat out for a joy ride,” the man said. “The steering wheel broke and the boat flipped.
He said two 13-year-old boys were riding on tubes and his 12-year-old son was in the boat with two adults when the incident occurred.
“The female adult that was injured and taken to the hospital was released with no severe injuries,” the man said. “All the children involved are OK and the boat was retrieved.
The man thanked the two men who picked up one of the boys who swam to the highway to seek help
“They took the birthday boy to safety and called for emergency services,” he said. “All people involved are home safe and sound.”
Boat incident on lake
Penticton deputy fire chief Chris Forster confirmed that one person suffered a minor injury in the boat flip.
“When our rescue boat came on scene, there was a nearby boat that assisted in getting the people out of the water until we got there,” Forster said. “Our boat shuttled them to the nearest shore where BC Ambulance was able to check everybody out and there was only one minor leg injury.”
One person was transported to hospital with a minor injury, Forster added.
The incident was called in at 2:18 p.m. It was close to Sun-Oka in the Trout Creek area, Forster noted.
