5 Dead in Louisiana boat wreck www.privateofficer.com
Posted by privateofficernews on May 21, 2009

BREAKING NEWS

DULARGE, La May 21 2009. – Five people were killed when their recreational fishing boat slammed into a barge sometime late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning in the Falgout Canal in Dularge, about 12 miles southwest of Houma.

Captain Samuel Martin of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Department said that everyone aboard the fishing vessel perished and that he believes that all the bodies have been recovered.

Martin said that although the identities of the victims were not being released pending family notification, the boat was registered out of Houma.

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Coast Guard were still on the scene near noon.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Pretty bad deal.

Officials: 5 dead in Louisiana boating accident
10 hours ago

HOUMA, La. (AP) — Five men who planned to take part in a weekend fishing tournament died when their 24-foot aluminum boat ran under one end of a barge, Louisiana officials said.

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Capt. Samuel Martin said the boat hit the moored barge late Wednesday but wasn't discovered until Thursday morning. He said the men apparently hit their heads on the barge's slanting underside. He could not say who found the boat.

Department spokeswoman Marianne Burke said investigators don't know whether the barge was lit.

Martin said the boat was upright and the bodies were still in it when it was found. The bodies were removed, and investigators are working to notify the men's families, he said.

The crash happened about 60 miles southwest of New Orleans on the Falgout (FAHL'-goo) Canal between Theriot (TERRY-oh) and Dulac (DOO-lak). The barge was being used by a crew stabilizing the bank.

Ernie Bennett, who is on the board of the Houma Oilman's Invitational Fishing Tournament, said the men were among about 3,000 entered in the contest that begins Friday.

Sad deal for all involved. I'm not sure of the laws involving an anchored barge, but I would imagine it would require marker lights of some kind.

I was hunting last winter and was running in a wide open part of the lake I hunt. It was a little foggy but not too bad. I had my hard light on and all of a sudden there was a track-hoe right in front of me. I thought I had veered off course and was about to hit land. Turned out they were dredging a cut and had this track-hoe on a barge. No lights, not even reflective tape. Black barge, purple track-hoe.

Everybody remember, be safe out there. Sad story to start the weekend. Have fun, and be safe!!

Couple years ago, I was headed to a buddies camp at night in the main canal of laffite. I almost hit a barge b/c it wasn't lit.

Damn, that reminds me of a time when I was about 16 and my dad would let me take his boat out. Me and about 3 friends were hydrosliding in the Bayou Teche and I was looking back at the guy on the board, then he points to the front and I turn back to the front and there was a barge docked. I did a Titanic swing to the left and missed it (it wasn't that close, and I was going to turn around after watching the guy on the board anyway), but had I kept watching we would have ended up under that barge, the exact same way these poor fellows did.

We would have hit at the front and the rake would have made us drive under.

Scary shit right there.

See guys, it pays to use common sense, it's all fun till someone dies.

May God bless those lost souls and the family they leave behind.

One of the men that died in that accident was our accountings brother here at work

Rob that was a bad night in Lafitte. I still had the lil 9 hp, running down the waterway almost hit it too. Barge had no light plus it was foggy as hell.

Been a bad year so far.

Im not going to speculate about this but I was in Falgout Canal the weekend we went to Coondiks and there was a barge unlit except for one small green light taking up a good bit of the canal. I almost hit it thinking the small green light was another boat way down the canal. Dont know if this was the same barge or not.
Anyway this was a sad thing that happened. Be careful out there guys.

Too many boating accidents this year. Its not even summer yet

And I finally got the big boat running right (I think at least)

this is a nice size barge, that was well lit. not sure if alcohol was involved or not, but they ran smack into it like it didnt even exist. from looking at the boat and the way the barge was even with all the lighting im postive they never seen it, boat was still in gear at full throttle, so that tells me they never even tried to back off the trottle at last moment. such a tradegdy for sure.