Two male FBI agents in their 30s are dead after their small boat slammed into a barge on the Ohio River Thursday night.
Emergency crews responded to the crash near downtown Cincinnati at about 11:55 p.m.
Cincinnati Fire Department officials tweeted just before midnight: “Crews are on scene at a river emergency on the Ohio River near the Public Landing, two DOAs have been located.”
The disabled boat was located in the middle of the river at the Serpentine Wall. Investigators found the two men deceased on board.
The boat was pulled to shore at the Public Landing.
NewsChannel5 Scripps sister station WCPO reporter Zac Pitts talked to residents who witnessed the crash.
“We see boats out there all the time, but the sound is what really got our attention,” said Kenneth Kidwell. “It was very loud. Like metal on metal.”
Cincinnati police said the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife will investigate the crash because it happened away from shore where Kentucky has jurisdiction.
“We saw (the boat) after it already hit and when we were watching as it broke away from the barge, the barge was still pushing it east, trying to stop,” said Scott Coleman. “Then they broke away and did a loop with the running lights on, hit the barge again. There was another loud ‘thunk’ then it was just dead in the water.”
Police say both men lived and worked in the area. Their names have not been released pending family notification.
