From the
Citizen.com. A more detailed report of the "accident".
Tubing accident causes serious injuries
A 12-year-old boy was seriously injured Friday afternoon in a tubing accident on Lake Kanasatka in Moultonborough.
The victim was a guest at Maple Cottages that has a beach on the small lake and he was injured when the tube he was riding on struck a boat, authorities report.
Moultonborough Deputy Fire Chief Rick Buckler said it was the third tubing accident in as many weeks that the department has responded to. He said inner tubes are inherently more dangerous that water skiing or wakeboarding because the rider is unable to steer and is at the mercy of the person driving the towboat.
According to Marine Patrol officials, two boys, ages 11 and 12, were being pulled behind a boat on the tube and was being towed between a swim raft and an unoccupied moored boat. While approaching shore, officials said the tube was whipped in the vicinity of the moored boat, resulting in the tube with the two young boys on it to hit the hull of the moored boat.
The 12-year-old boy sustained serious head injuries as a result of the incident, according to authorities. The identity of the two boys was not released, nor was the name of the operator of the boat. The only identifying information supplied in a press release by Marine Patrol said the operator of the boat was 46 years old from Peabody, Mass.
Buckler said he radioed for three different hospitals to be contacted in hopes of getting a helicopter to medevac the victim, but scattered thunderstorms in the region grounded helicopters in Lebanon, Portland, Maine and Boston.
A Moultonborough police cruiser was instead pressed into service to escort the ambulance to Lakes Region General Hospital. New Hampshire Marine Patrol is investigating the accident, which was reported just before 3:30 p.m.
The 12-year-old was admitted to Dartmouth-Hitchchock Medical Center while the 11-year-old was treated for minor injuries at Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia and was released.
During the on scene investigations, by New Hampshire Marine Patrol and Moultonborough Police, it was determined that alcohol was not a factor in the accident, however the collision remains under investigation.
Lake Kanasatka is 375 acres in size and is fed by Wakondah Pond from the west, snow melt from the surrounding hills and many of its own springs. A dam at the Route 25 end of the lake controls the water level. Water that flows over the dam follows a narrow stream into Lake Winnipesaukee. The lake is two miles long, .3 miles wide in most places and has a mean depth of 20 feet. The deepest point, estimated at 48 feet, is in the widest spot, near Route 25.
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Hope the youngster has a full and speedy recovery.