Third Woman Dies After Boat Flips Over in Lake

The third woman who was involved in a pontoon boat capsizing on Flagstaff Lake in Eustis, Maine, on Saturday, Aug. 30, has died.

Noor Nasir, 22, succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday, Sept. 2, after she was hospitalized in Bangor, Maine, on Saturday, Aug. 30. 

Mark Latti, Director of Communications for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, issued a statement to PEOPLE confirming Noor’s death. “The investigation continues. It will be a while before it is complete,” he added.

The day before her death Zeeshan Abbasi, a family friend of Noor, said that doctors “almost said that there is no hope,” per WMTW.

The day of the accident, Farhana Nasir, 53, and Kiran Akbar, 23, were both pronounced dead at the scene. The three women died after a pontoon boat with seven occupants flipped over in the western Maine lake.

On Saturday, Aug. 30, around 1:30 p.m. local time, the group departed the dock on an 18-foot boat and was boating in the upper reaches of Flagstaff Lake in Eustis when they arrived in front of the beach area of a campground, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said in a statement.  

There, the bow of the pontoon started to go under the water, prompting the boat operator, 50-year-old John Morris, to try to raise the bow, officials added.

However, despite Morris’ efforts, the pontoon still went under. and “all seven passengers into the water approximately 180 feet from shore,” the agency said. 

People nearby rushed into the water to help the group and brought them all to shore.

One of the nearby campers was Massachusetts retired firefighter Kevin Carter, who helped administer CPR, WMTW reported. 

“Being a retired firefighter, you just step in, you know, it’s in the blood,” he told the outlet. “So I just went down there not really knowing what to expect, and the second I got out of my car, I heard people yelling, and it was pretty chaotic.”

Passersby called 911, but first responders didn’t arrive until 45 minutes later because of the remote location, WMTW reported. Upon their arrival, Noor, Farhana and Kiran were found unresponsive and received CPR, officials said. Farhana and Kiran were then pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials said that none of the passengers on the boat were wearing life jackets at the time of the incident, and alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the crash. An investigation is ongoing.