Two New York women die after pontoon boat flips in Maine lake

EUSTIS, Maine - A boating accident Saturday afternoon took the lives of two New York women, and another woman is in critical condition at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

At approximately 1:30 p.m. a group of seven people had left their dock and were boating in the upper reaches of Flagstaff Lake in a 2024 18' Sea-Doo Switch Pontoon boat. The boat was traveling towards Flagstaff Lake, and when they were in front of the beach area of the Cathedral Pines Campground, the bow of their pontoon boat started to go under, according to a Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife press release. The operator, John Morris, 50, of Eustis, attempted to raise the bow, but it continued to go under and the boat flipped, throwing all seven passengers into the water about 180 feet from shore.

Witnesses on the shore and on the lake rushed to assist those in the boat, and were able to get all seven of them to the shore. Three of the passengers were unresponsive and CPR was performed on all three.

Farhana Nasir, age 53, of Selden, New York and Kiran Akbar, age 23, of Lake Grove, New York died at the scene. Noor Nasir, 22, of New York was Lifeflighted to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical where she is in critical condition.

No one in the boat was wearing lifejackets. The initial investigation indicates that alcohol is not a factor in the crash.

The crash remains under investigation.