20 Dead In Tour Boat Tragedy

Dozens More Injured When Senior Citizens Cruise Capsizes On NY Lake

(CBS/AP) 
The trip was arranged through Canadian-based Shoreline Tours, Brown said. Representatives of Shoreline could not immediately be reached for comment by The Associated Press.

"It's a sad time in our community. We're a small community, and we handle things differently in small communities," Brown said. "We know names. We know faces. We have relatives. It's all intertwined. It's a sad day for us."

Twenty-seven people were taken to a hospital in nearby Glens Falls. Some suffered broken ribs and others complained of shortness of breath. Seven survivors were admitted, hospital spokesman Jason White said.

Police investigators were at the hospital late Sunday to question survivors and get an accurate count.

The National Transportation Safety Board arrived on the scene early Monday. Officials said they expect to raise the sunken boat in the next few days, Miller reports.

Police said the boat pilot was interviewed. The New York Times reported that investigators had not tested Richard Paris for drug or alcohol use because there was no evidence of intoxication.

The boat's owner, Jim Quirk, whose family has operated Shoreline Cruises for decades, told the Glens Falls Post-Star: "It is a tragedy and it's very unfortunate."

The boat was last inspected in May 2005 and no problems were found, according to Wendy Gibson, spokeswoman for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

As dusk fell, several police boats were on the water, and at least half a dozen divers were in a small cove on the west side of the lake. The Ethan Allen lay at the bottom of the lake in 70 feet of water.

"It should have been a day of enjoyment," said state police Superintendent Wayne Bennett, who was out boating on the lake earlier Sunday. "Instead, it was one of sadness."

Lake George is an enormous and historic body of water, feeding into Lake Champlain and from there into the St. Lawrence River and on to the Atlantic Ocean. The lake bottom has many wrecks, at least one dating back to the French and Indian war in the mid-18th century.