Duck boat overturns in Cambridge, injuring 11 people

Local News

The amphibious tour vehicle flipped on Saturday while being towed from the Charles River after experiencing a mechanical issue on the water.

A duck boat was visible flipped on its side Saturday on the ramp at 10 Museum Way in Cambridge. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

Eleven people were injured, including one seriously, after a Boston duck boat overturned on a boat ramp along the Charles River in Cambridge on Saturday, authorities said.

The incident happened shortly after 3 p.m. on a boat ramp at 10 Museum Way near Education Street. Thirty-one people were aboard the duck boat when it tipped onto its side, Sarah Burgess, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police, told The Boston Globe.

One person was trapped inside the vehicle and was extricated before being taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to Boston EMS. Details about their condition were not immediately available.

According to Burgess, the duck boat broke down while on the Charles and was being pulled up the boat ramp by another duck boat when the tow rope snapped, causing the vehicle to overturn.

Boston Duck Tours spokesperson Thomas Vigna said in a statement that the company suspended operations as a precaution for the remainder of the day. 

“We are working with Massachusetts State Police and U.S. Coast Guard to review the incident,” Vigna said.

Saturday’s rollover is the latest incident involving Boston Duck Tours. In May, a 62-year-old woman was injured when she was struck by a duck boat while in a downtown crosswalk. In 2016, a duck boat struck and killed a 29-year-old woman as she rode a scooter near Boston Common, prompting Massachusetts to require blind-spot cameras, proximity sensors, and separate tour guides on the vehicles. 

Boston’s duck boats are one of the city’s best-known tourist attractions, carrying visitors through downtown streets before splashing into the Charles River. Modeled after World War II-era amphibious military vehicles, the tours launched in 1994 and have become an iconic sightseeing staple. The duck boat involved in Saturday’s rollover, named Molly Mollasses, was christened in 1999, according to a WCVB report.

Former Boston Duck Tours captain Peggy Lecce of Woburn told the Globe that duck boat operators are routinely trained to tow another vehicle if one becomes disabled, but that Saturday’s rollover incident was a first.

“They’ve never had an accident on the water like this,” Lecce told the outlet. “Ducks will break down, and we tow each other out. That’s part of our training when I worked there as a duck boat captain, is learning how to tow ducks out of the river.”

The overturned duck boat remained on its side near the river for several hours before it was removed from the scene just before 7:30 p.m., according to the Globe.

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

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