3 killed in pontoon crash, including 2 firefighters, authorities say

WABASHA, Minn. (WEAU/Gray News) — A Minnesota community is in mourning after a pontoon crashed into a commercial barge over the weekend.

Three people were killed in the tragic accident on Lake Pepin, which is on the Mississippi River along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.

Two of the victims were members of the Wabasha Fire Department.

The victims have been identified as Ashley Monson, 37; Manuel De Angel-Sola, 52; and Nicholas Loechler, 46. All were Wabasha residents.

At about 10:45 p.m. Saturday, the Pepin County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about people screaming for help from the water.

First responders located an overturned pontoon boat near the YMCA Camp on Deer Island. Three survivors were found clinging to the boat.

The survivors told officials that three more people were on the boat with them.

A search-and-rescue operation was launched to find the three remaining boaters. After their bodies were recovered, officials took them to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office in St. Paul.

The crash remains under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.