Two Teens Hospitalized After Parasailing Accident

Two teenage sisters vacationing from Ocala were severly hurt in a frightening parasailing accident on Pompano Beach. The skies were overcast when they took off for what they surely thought would be an exciting, but safe, parasailing ride. When the wind started gusting, the driver of the boat headed back towards the shoreline. Something went terribly wrong when a gust of wind blew the pair towards the shore and the two teens, still tethered to the parachute, hit the roof of the Beachcomber Resort. The parachute continued to pull them across the top of the roof and when the rope finally snapped, the two tumbled toward the ground. They hit several palms trees and were left hanging in a tree until they could be cut free. Both teens remain in the hospital as the Broward County sheriffs department continues its investigation

Parasailing operators are regulated and their boats inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard. According to a USCG , there were 64 injuries and 3 deaths as a result of parasailing accidents from 1992 – 2001 and most occurred on uninspected boats.