A 6-year-old girl died after being struck by a boat propeller in Arizona

By Rebekah Riess, CNN

(CNN) — A 6-year-old girl who was accidentally struck by a boat propeller on Lake Pleasant in Arizona Friday morning, has died, according to officials.

Two families in a group of 12 people were out on a boat on the lake when 911 dispatchers received a call from one family that their 6-year-old daughter had been struck by the boat’s propeller, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) said in a release.

Witnesses at the scene told law enforcement that the girl’s mother was operating the boat and unaware that the child was in the water when she started to drive, pulling the father on a wakeboard,

The father then noticed someone in the water and swam over, quickly realizing it was his own daughter and that her leg had been amputated by the boat’s propeller, according to the release.

“The child was transported to the lake marina by her family, where MCSO deputies and fire personnel met them and immediately began rendering aid to the child and subsequently transported the child to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced deceased,” the release said.

While the incident remains under investigation, the sheriff’s office said impairment doesn’t appear to be a factor in the tragedy, and all 12 occupants of the boat were wearing life vests.

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