duck boat – A Boston Duck Tours vehicle overturned on its side on a Cambridge ramp along the Charles River on Saturday, injuring 11 people—including one who required extrication and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. Authorities said a mechanical breakdown led t
Shortly after 3 p.m. on Saturday, a Boston duck boat flipped onto its side at a boat ramp on the Charles River in Cambridge—visible as it lay near the waterline at 10 Museum Way.
Authorities said 11 people were injured, including one seriously, after the duck boat tipped while being pulled up the ramp following a mechanical issue on the water. Thirty-one people were aboard the vehicle when it overturned.
The incident took place on the boat ramp at 10 Museum Way near Education Street. One person was trapped inside the vehicle and was extricated before being taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to Boston EMS. Details about that person’s condition were not immediately available.
Sarah Burgess, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police, said 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 EMS and state authorities coordinated the immediate response at the scene, where the overturned duck boat remained on its side near the river for several hours before it was removed just before 7:30 p.m., according to the Globe.
Afterward, Boston Duck Tours suspended operations for the rest of the day “as a precaution.” In a statement, spokesperson Thomas Vigna said the company was working with Massachusetts State Police and the U.S. Coast Guard to review what happened.
Saturday’s rollover follows other serious incidents involving the company. In May, a 62-year-old woman was injured after 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. After that, Massachusetts required blind-spot cameras, proximity sensors, and separate tour guides on the vehicles.
Boston’s duck boats remain 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 a familiar sightseeing staple.
The duck boat involved in Saturday’s rollover was named Molly Mollasses and was christened in 1999, according to a WCVB report.
Peggy Lecce. a former Boston Duck Tours captain of Woburn. told the Globe that duck boat operators are routinely trained to tow another vehicle if one becomes disabled—but that Saturday’s incident was different. “They’ve never had an accident on the water like this,” Lecce said. “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.”.
As the injured were treated and the companies and agencies involved reviewed the circumstances, the timeline of the breakdown, the tow, and the snapping rope left a clear question hanging over the day: how quickly a routine rescue maneuver turned into a crash at the water’s edge.
Duck boat overturns Cambridge 10 Museum Way Education Street Charles River Massachusetts State Police Boston EMS Massachusetts General Hospital Molly Mollasses Boston Duck Tours Thomas Vigna U.S. Coast Guard
Duck boats are a scam anyway.
So it broke down in the Charles and then the rope snapped?? That’s terrifying. How did 31 people even end up on it if it had issues.
Wait was it pulled up by another duck boat like a tugboat thing? I thought those were just like tourist rides not actual boats that need tow ropes. Glad the trapped person got out, but 31 passengers and only 11 injured still sounds like a lot still. Tow rope snapping sounds like bad maintenance to me.
This is why I don’t trust those “fun” rides by the river. First of all it’s near Education Street, like come on, what ramp is that even. If the mechanical thing started while it was on the water then why were they still pulling it up instead of stopping everything right away. Also wasn’t there something last time too, like struck by a duck boat??