Survivors of capsized Lockport Cave tour boat describe terror as they were thrown into Erie Canal

‘The boat literally landed on my head,’ Elizabeth Morrissette says

A woman who survived the capsizing of a tour boat at the historic Lockport Cave in New York has opened up about the terrifying accident.

Elizabeth Morrissette and her husband Dan were among 29 local hospitality workers onboard the flat-bottomed boat when it capsized in an underground water tunnel off the Erie Canal on Monday. One man was killed and eleven others were injured.

In an interview with local news outlet WKBW, Ms Morrissette said passengers were encouraged during the tour to turn their heads around so they could appreciate more of the cave. Some individuals then voiced concerns that the boat was not fit for a lot of movement just moments before it capsized.

“I went under the water when it fully capsized, but I was on my way back up from being under the water and the boat literally landed on my head,” Ms Morrissette said.

“People are climbing on top of the boat to get out of the water because as soon as you hit that water with your chest your air is gone. It knocks the breath right out of you, you have nothing left.”

Some passengers were able to get to safety on their own. Rescue crews using an inflatable boat rescued about 16 others, according to Lockport Fire Chief Luca Quagliano.

“The boat did a 180-degree turn, so the bottom of the boat was upright in the water,” Mr Quagliano said at a news conference on Monday evening. “A number of victims were on top of that boat initially wheDaniel Morrissetten rescuers got to them.”

Speaking about the incident on ABC‘s Good Morning America, the Morrissettes also said people were panicking and yelling loudly as they were thrown into the water, which emergency officials said was between 5 feet and 6 feet deep.

FILE - Water reflects the rock of the man-made Lockport Caves in Lockport, N.Y., on Aug. 21, 2014 (2014, BUFFALO NEWS)

“By the time I realized what happened, the boat was on top of me and I couldn’t find any air pockets or anything. And I’m just trying to, like, breathe because I’m underwater,” Mr Morrissette said.

Video footage from the scene outside the Lockport Cave office showed one person talking as she was loaded onto an ambulance. Others wrapped in white towels were being escorted to a bus as a steady rain fell.

An investigation into what led up to the boat capsize is now underway. The name of the man who died has not been released but authorities said that he was in his sixties.

This photo provided by Jeremy Swiatowy shows rescue workers as they breach a wall with a sledgehammer, Monday, June 12

Lockport Cave is a half-mile-long manmade tunnel created in the 19th century with the original purpose of transporting water from the Erie Canal to the nearby Holly Manufacturing Company to power the plant.

In the 1970s, it was turned into an attraction offering thrilling underground boat rides to tourists.

Lockport is a city of approximately 21,000 residents in Niagara County, New York, and is located around 20 miles northeast of Buffalo.