Twenty-one people on a Lake Powell houseboat were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning Wednesday, the third such incident reported in the area this month.
A small group of people were playing games in the boat's living room around midnight when they started to feel sick. Some stood up and collapsed, while a few more went to the back of the boat and started throwing up.
That group woke everyone else up and got everyone off the boat, which was in Face Canyon.
"We came home, we were laughing at dinner and then we just went to bed, and a handful of others and woke up 30 minutes later to a traumatizing experience," explained Kaizley Eades who was on the boat.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area rangers responded to the privately-owned houseboat in Face Canyon after a call reported that just four people were possibly suffering from CO poisoning. Upon arriving, rangers identified a total of 21 patients on the houseboat.
Five medical helicopters were dispatched to the scene to assist in transporting patients, with three adults and two juveniles ending up having to be airlifted to St. George Regional Hospital.
"We've been told by several doctors we should have all been dead in our sleep," shared Kaizley, who was one of those hospitalized.
All the other patients on the houseboat were treated on the scene, but ended up going to the hospital later.
"They put every one of us, including a brand new baby, through the hyperbaric chamber to hopefully help us all recover that way," said Ryker Eades.
The location of the boat in Face Canyon was near buoy 24, placing it on the Arizona side of the lake.
The National Park Service and Coconino County Sheriff's Office are currently investigating the incident. Officials said Wednesday's incident was the third carbon monoxide poisoning-related event in July alone.
"Carbon monoxide is a poisoning you can't taste you can't see it you can't feel it and the body has no idea it's being poisoned," explained retired National Park Service ranger Steve Luckesen.
Back in the 90s, Luckesen was one of many rangers who worked to find the cause of mysterious houseboat deaths at the lake. The silent killer was identified as carbon monoxide.
"Where we see carbon monoxide on houseboats is the engines," he added, "it's the gasoline engines, so if your generator isn't well-maintained then it's not working efficiently, it will put out more carbon monoxide."
Luckesen implored those with older houseboats who have ignored preventative maintenance to get their vessel checked.
In a social media post on the incident, the park service warned boaters of the dangers of carbon monoxide and the importance of having operable CO detectors on all watercraft.
"Carbon Monoxide is an odorless, tasteless gas that can cause death when inhaled. Symptoms of exposure can include headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and confusion," the post read. "A person who is sleeping can die from CO poisoning before recognizing symptoms. Boats can collect dangerous levels of CO anytime fuel-burning, engines or appliances are running."
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