ROCKLAND, Maine — Update (5:30 p.m.):
The U.S. Coast Guard said the Grace Bailey, a 118-foot schooner, had 33 people aboard when it was demasted.
In a news release, the Coast Guard said personnel on the boat reached out to the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England command center requesting help after their mast broke and fell onto the deck. It caused head and back injuries.
Officials said the boat was about a mile east of Rockland Harbor at the time of the demasting.
"The MLB crew arrived on scene and transferred a woman from the Grace Bailey to Rockland Harbor where she was transferred to awaiting EMS and pronounced deceased," the release stated.
The Coast Guard returned to the Grace Bailey with EMS personnel to retrieve the other injured individuals. Three were hospitalized.
“In this time of sorrow, we offer our deepest condolences to the grieving family, and our most heartfelt wishes for a swift recovery to those harmed,” Capt. Amy Florentino, the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England commander, said in the release. “Our investigation aims to identify causative factors that led to this tragic incident.”
Officials said the Coast Guard is continuing to investigate the cause of the incident.
Original story:
One person has died and others were injured in a sailboat accident in Penobscot Bay on Monday morning, officials say.
Officials received a call from the U.S. Coast Guard about a "large sailboat in distress" just outside the breakwater in Rockland Harbor, the Rockland Fire & EMS Department said in a news release.
Rockland Fire & EMS Chief Chris Whytock told NEWS CENTER Maine the boat involved in the accident was the Grace Bailey Schooner.
Officials said the call came in at about 10:30 a.m.
According to the release, a mast on the sailboat snapped, and there were reports of multiple people injured.
Fire and emergency personnel worked with the Coast Guard and cared for several injured boaters. Three patients were hospitalized, and an additional patient "succumbed to their injuries," the release stated.
"The City of Rockland extends our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the victim," the release said.