At least four boats sank at an event promoted as a Trump Boat Parade on Lake Travis in Texas today.
Another boat caught on fire during a similar event on Lake Havasu in Arizona.
The Sheriff’s Office in Travis County received “multiple” calls of boats in distress starting at 12:15 p.m. local time, a spokeswoman, Kristen Dark, said.
No injuries were immediately reported, said Christa Stedman, a spokeswoman for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
Firefighters pulled some people out of the water, said Braden Frame, president of the Lake Travis Fire Fighters Association.
Trump Boat sinking.
So many jokes… pic.twitter.com/FcAej3JL0y
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) September 5, 2020
Exactly what happened as well as the number of boats participating in the gathering was not immediately clear, Dark said.
The event, called the Lake Travis Trump Boat Parade, was organized on Facebook.
Owners of boats of “all shapes and sizes” were encouraged to participate and to decorate them with “as many Trump flags as she can handle,” the event’s Facebook page said.
Boaters were set to travel around the lake, which is about 15 miles northwest of Austin, at 10 miles per hour, according to the event’s page.
In Lake Havasu, a boat was reported on fire in Thompson Bay following a Trump boat parade.
Boat caught on fire during Trump boat event in Lake Havasu City, AZ
An excessive heat warning had been issued for Lake Havasu lasting the entire weekend.
The high on Saturday was 119 degrees.