One dead after boat crashes into ferry carrying more than 40 people in Florida

All patients and passengers have been removed from the boat, ... All local hospitals have been notified. Multiple trauma alerts have been called with helicopters transporting two of the more seriously injured."

police said on X

It was like a big yacht, it hit from behind, like it came through where the captain sits, like he was pinned down.”

Passenger Marco Vacheco told local outlet 10 Tampa Bay

Where we were, it was really shallow, so there was actually some paramedics that went out there and helped my children and I get off the boat,

she said

The boat that fled the scene has been identified by another law enforcement agency,

the police department said

It is not believed that there is anyone reported missing from the ferry,

Rob Shaw, a public information officer for the police, told CNN

We believe that the boat responsible for hitting the ferry left the scene immediately, and we believe that our law enforcement partners may have that boat,

Clearwater Police spokesperson Rob Shaw said

We're working (on) a boat crash off the Memorial Causeway bridge that has resulted in multiple injuries. It's been declared a mass casualty incident by the fire department due to the number of injuries,

Clearwater Police Department said in its initial statement

The ferry came to rest on a sandbar just south of the Memorial Causeway bridge. All patients and passengers have been removed,

police added

The crash involved the Clearwater Ferry, which had more than 40 people on board,

police said, ... adding the

All of the injuries are from the ferry. The boat that struck the ferry fled the scene,

said local police in a social media post