Two students dead after crew club boat capsizes during practice

Lake conditions described as ‘pretty rough’ on cold and windy day in the state

Two students dead after crew club boat capsizes during practice (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Two students died after an Iowa State University crew club boat capsized during a practice session on a lake.

The incident took place after the team took to the water on Little Wall Lake, the university has confirmed.

Three members of the five person crew were rescued from the cold water and released from a hospital on Sunday.

The body of one student was recovered on Sunday before the search effort was suspended for the night and the body of a second student was found by search teams on Monday.

Authorities say that neighboring residents helped save the lives of the three rescued students.

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“We’ve also had several heroes that live in the buildings out here, came out and help the individuals. This could have been a lot worse,” said Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Timmons. 

Officials say that the wind was blowing at up to 25mph on Sunday morning when the crew team was out on the lake.

”The lake was pretty rough,” added Sheriff Timmons, who said that the cause of the capsizing was under investigation.

Roger Fritz lives on the lake’s west side, and tweeted that he saw one person swim to the south shore, one to the north shore, and one rescued by Kayak.

“My guess is the water is about 40 degrees,” Mr Fritz tweeted. 

The air temperature at 8.30am at the Ames Municipal Airport was 37 degrees according to the National Weather Service and the wind chill was 27 degrees.

“I’m guessing they probably got swamped in some heavier waves. Those crew boats are really shallow,” added Mr Fritz. 

The 249 acre lake is 13.2 feet at its deepest, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. 

“The Iowa State community is heartbroken to learn of this tragic accident at Little Wall Lake,” Wendy Wintersteen, the university president, said in a statement. 

“At this time, we are focused on providing support to club members, their families and friends. We ask that everyone keep them in their thoughts during this very difficult time.”