Illinois mom killed, 2 kids injured while parasailing in Florida Keys

A 33-year-old mother was killed and two kids were hurt while parasailing in the Florida Keys earlier this week.

Authorities say that a sudden storm prompted the boat’s captain to cut the parasailing cable for fear that the boat would be dragged.

The woman and the children, still harnessed to the parasail, were then carried more than a mile, before slamming into the Old Seven Mile Bridge near Pigeon Key, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement Tuesday.

The tragic incident took place on Monday shortly before 5:30 p.m.

The captain, 49-year-old Daniel Couch, “cut the line” that was tethered to three parasailers,” who then “dropped from an unknown height and dragged through the water by the inflated parasail,” according to the FWC incident report.

“The chute continued to drag the victims through and across the surface of the water” until it slammed into the bridge, the report added.

The Miami Herald reported that the woman, Supraja Alaparthi, was “deceased on the scene,” according to a Coast Guard spokesman.

Her 10-year-old son and 9-year-old nephew were taken to hospitals for treatment.

Her nephew was found unconscious and wrapped in the parasail’s lines.

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, it’s unlawful to operate a parasail when wind gusts exceed 25 mph; if there is a lightning storm within 7 miles; or fog, rain or reduced visibility within a half-mile. There is also a requirement for a $2 million insurance policy.

The U.S. Coast Guard as well as the FWC are investigating the incident.