Two boats collide on the Mon River; 1 dead, 3 remain missing
Search effort turns into recovery mission in the area of Rices Landing, Greene County
RICES LANDING, Pa. —
A search for three people after a boat capsized in the Monongahela River has now become a recovery mission, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Greene County emergency management officials said Monday afternoon.
Emergency crews at the scene near Rices Landing said two men and a woman remain missing, while a woman and a man were rescued and flown to area hospitals.
The Fish and Boat Commission later confirmed to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that the woman rescued from the water later die. No other information has been released.
Sgt. Frank Mehalko of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission said the 24-foot cabin cruiser collided with a tugboat vessel pushing a barge Sunday night. That caused the cruiser to capsize just before 9 p.m. about a mile north of Rices Landing.
“The barge operator had actually stopped the boat after the collision. Two of the crew members actually boarded a life vessel and actually rescued the two that were in the river,” Sgt. Frank Mehalko of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission said.
Mehalko said it is unclear what caused the collision, the speed of either vessel, or whether visibility was a factor, but noted the incident occurred after dark.
Melanie Miller, a Rices Landing resident, recalled seeing boats on the river within the hour of the collision.
“I saw the barge coming from Fredericktown direction, saw the boats out here and it was about 9 o’clock, I heard sirens going… about 9:30 LifeFlights started landing, search helicopters, life flights, everything,” she said.
The search for the missing boaters—two men and one woman—began immediately, with state police helicopters, drones, and canines assisting in the effort. Canines were used to search a 100-yard circumference around the crash location.
“We’ve got multiple sonar units in the water. We’ve had some divers. We’re just not finding anything,” said Richard Policz, Greene County director of emergency services.
When asked if the transition from a rescue mission to a recovery mission indicated the missing boaters may not have survived, Policz said, “It’s looking that way to us right now with everything we’ve had. K-9 out, searching. They’ve hit some areas that’s in the water. So we just have not found anything yet. But we’re still keeping hope up of maybe somebody as you can see, it’s very, a lot of vegetation along the banks, that maybe somebody’s there.”
Greene County emergency services and dive teams will determine how long the search efforts will continue.
The Greene County DA was on scene to support the agencies involved.
Multiple volunteer fire companies have been called to help with the ongoing efforts, as well as the Fish and Boat Commission and Murrysville Medic One Dive Team.
This is a developing story. Stay with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 for updates.
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