Nine people have died and one person was severely injured after an SUV crashed into a canal in south Florida, authorities said.
First responders arrived at the accident, which happened in a rural part of Palm Beach County at approximately 7:30 p.m. local time on Monday, Aug. 5, to find a Ford Explorer partially submerged and upside down in the canal, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a press release.
Four of the SUV’s occupants were pronounced dead at the scene and six were transported to a local hospital, where five people later died. A 26-year-old male survived the crash, authorities confirmed in the press release.
Per the Associated Press, The driver failed to negotiate a curve in the road and the car hit a guardrail before flipping into the canal.
Sheriff’s deputies and members of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue dove into the water to search for survivors, and one sheriff’s deputy was injured during the rescue attempt.
The identities of the victims have not yet been released, but they include adults and children, “including babies,” the sheriff’s office said per NBC affiliate WPTV.
“This is a very significant scene,” Palm Beach Fire Department captain Tom Reyes told the outlet. “I’ve been with the department for 20 years and this is one of the most difficult scenes I’ve been on.”
