Three men died Sunday after their boat capsized below Lock and Dam No. 12 on the Mississippi River at Bellevue in northeast Iowa, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported.
The DNR said in a news release that the boat overturned as the victims were fishing in a restricted area. It said preliminary information indicated it was pulled into hazardous waters created by a strong backflow from the dam’s operation.
The release said the men were pulled from water and rescuers attempted to revive them, but two were confirmed dead at the scene. A third was taken by ambulance to MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center in Dubuque and was pronounced dead there, it said.
The names of the dead were withheld pending notification of their families and the accident remains under investigation, the DNR said.
It was the second fatal boating-related incident reported Sunday in Iowa. Earlier in the day, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said it had recovered from Lake Red Rock of the body of a Des Moines duck hunter who had been reported missing after his boat began taking on water.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 3 dead after boat capsizes in Mississippi dam backwash in Bellevue