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Monday, August 24, 2009

Storm's Waves Sweep Girl To Her Death Off Maine


Coast Guard saves others after crowds gathered to watch crashing waves

PORTLAND, Maine
- Waves from Hurricane Bill killed a 7-year-old girl in Maine after she, her father and a 12-year-old girl were among those swept into the water Sunday off Acadia National Park's Thunder Hole, where tourists often gather to watch waves crash into a crevasse and make a thundering sound while splashing high in the air.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that the waves swept over 20 people. Chief Ranger Stuart West said 11 people were taken to the hospital, mainly for broken bones after being slammed onto the rocks.

"The case presented many risks which were mitigated with expert training of our crews, state of the art equipment, and time proven practices. While we saved two lives, we are heartbroken that the life of a young girl was lost," said Captain James McPherson, Sector Commander of Sector Northern New England.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is no excuse for the Park service to allow people to put themselves in harms way like that.Knowing the danger storms present.NO EXCUSE!

Anonymous said...

The waves were crashing in at Ocean City on Sat. Common sense says you shouldn't get in, get off the parks service back.

Anonymous said...

IDIOTS!
We saw some over in Ocean City on Saturday too standing on the jetty at the inlet. It was well after dark and there was no way to see some of the swells coming.
We were on the beach but were in safe distance. In fact, one set of waves came in and we were able to avoid getting wet because we were close enough to the parking lot.
The south end of the inlet parking lot was a river.

Anonymous said...

While I agree that the Park Service should do everything in their power to keep the public safe, I must say that it is also the public's responsibility to use COMMON SENSE and don't put themselves in danger. This is tragic but the fault lies with everyone.