The Grace Bailey.Photo:AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty
AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty
A woman was killed and three others were hospitalized after a schooner’s mast snapped and fell on top of them during an apparent cruise.
The United States Coast Guard said it responded to the scene about a mile east of Rockland Harbor in Maine around 10 a.m. local time on Monday, after personnel from the 118-foot schooner — called the Grace Bailey — informed them that the broken mast hadinjured several peopleonboard.
One woman apparently sustained a serious head injury when the mast split and fell on top of her and the others, according toThe Courier-Gazette, which described her as a passenger on a foliage cruise.
The woman was eventually transported to shore, where she was pronounced dead, the Coast Guard said in a press release. Her identity has not been released.
The Coast Guard then went back to pick up the three other people who were also injured in the incident. After getting back to shore, they were transported to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport.
The surviving victims' conditions have not been released.
Jackson’s agent did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The sold-out cruise began Thursday and wasset to concludeon Monday, according to the Grace Bailey’s website.
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Built in Patchogue, N.Y., in 1882, the Grace Bailey offers “all-inclusive” multi-night cruises along the coast of Maine, according to its website.
In a statement, the schooner’s captain, Sam Sikkema, said “the safety of our guests is always our biggest priority” on board the Grace Bailey, according to theCourier-Gazette.
Owners of the Grace Bailey did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to the Coast Guard.
Captain Amy Florentino, the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England commander, said investigators will attempt to determine what caused the “tragic incident” to occur.
“In this time of sorrow, we offer our deepest condolences to the grieving family, and our most heartfelt wishes for a swift recovery to those harmed,” she said in the Coast Guard’s news release.
source: people.com
