Officials: Number Of Fatal Boat Accidents Increase In State
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Officials in Maryland say there has been an increase in the number of fatal boat accidents in the state waters this year.
The Baltimore Sun reports that Maryland Department of Natural Resources police spokeswoman Candy Thomson says 17 people have been killed in boat accidents in the state this year. Thomson says the state averages 12 boating-related deaths a year.
Thomson says the number of fatalities for this year is preliminary and that an official number is released by the Coast Guard every year.
Thomson says the number of fatalities this year reflects an increase of boating activity because of warm weather and low gas prices.
Nineteen people were killed in boating accidents in 2011, which Thomson says was the "highest level in recent years."
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