Update Aug. 7, 3:05 p.m.: A spokesman for Texas Parks & Wildlife said Monday that a third boy has died from his injuries after three Boy Scouts in a sailboat struck a power line hanging over a lake over the weekend, The Associated Press reported.
The 11-year-old Boy Scout was hospitalized after the accident, but died Monday, spokesman Steve Lightfoot told the wire service.
“It wasn't clear Monday why the power line was overhanging the water, in proximity to watercraft,” according to the AP.
Original report: Three Boy Scouts were electrocuted, two fatally, after their Catamaran ran into an overhead transmission power line over the weekend, according to officials.
The boys — ages 11, 16 and 17 — were boating on Lake O' The Pines near Avinger, Texas, around 2 p.m. Saturday when the accident occurred, according to a press release from the Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Game wardens found the Hobie Cat Catamaran on fire with the sails up. They found the 17-year-old boy dead onboard the boat and the 16-year-old dead in the water.
Good Samaritans gave CPR to the 11-year-old on a separate boat. He was taken to a hospital.
The boys were part of a Boy Scouts troop based in Hallsville, Texas.
The Longview New-Journal identified the two deceased boys as Will Brannon, 17, and Heath Faucheux, 16. The 11-year-old, Thomas Larry, is still in critical condition, the newspaper reported.
"This is an extremely difficult time for our Scouting family," Dewayne Stephens, Boy Scouts of America's East Texas Area Council chief executive, said in a statement. "We are very sad to confirm the deaths of two youth participants following a boating incident. ... Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families. We will support them in any way that we can."
Read more from the Texas Parks and Wildlife or the Longview New-Journal.
The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.
About the Author
