'Boat Gone Wild' On Lake Of The Ozarks? Here's What Happened [VIDEO]

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — Around noon on July 25, the Osage Beach Fire Protection District rescued passengers on a pontoon that was out of control around the 17 Mile Marker. No one was injured in the incident, but there were many witnesses in the cove, and news of the strange event left many wondering, "What happened?"

The vessel — a small pontoon — started doing tight donuts after the driver made a sharp turn near the 17 Mile Marker, according to Kyle Green, the Missouri State Highway Patrol Public Information Officer for Troop F. Green says the driver was at the helm the whole time and was reportedly worried about taking on water if he tried to level out the boat.

A video of the incident shows the boat precariously leaning to the port side, with the starboard pontoon almost completely out of the water. Multiple people were aboard, with one person standing almost vertically on the edge of a table as the boat appeared ready to tip over.

The video, courtesy of eyewitness Courtney Goebel, is below.

Firefighter Douglas with OBFPD, one of the first responders, said the boat was jammed in gear. It took about 4 minutes to flag down jet skiers for help, and another 4 minutes to finally board the pontoon and get it under control. 

Courtney Goebel saw the incident from her dock and called the MSHP Water Patrol, which arrived on scene about 15 minutes after she started videoing the situation. She noticed the area had lots of other boaters and people on wave-runners also watching the scene unfold.

"It was intense, but great job to the first responders," Goebel said. 

Michelle Fahser was also in the cove when the boat went out of control. One person from the boat jumped off, she said, and she thinks a jet ski picked that person up in the water while he swam away from the boat (and its propeller) toward a dock.

"It was total chaos and made no sense," Fahser said. "There were several people standing, hollering, and trying to help nearby."

Fahser's sister took the following video:

Finally, when the firefighter used the borrowed PWC to climb aboard the boat, he turned off the engine and the boat righted itself. Incredibly, no one was injured. 

Prior Coverage

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