About 1 p.m. Thursday, multiple calls from different locations in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area reported a microburst — a rapid, powerful downdraft of wind — to dispatchers, said National Parks Service spokeswoman Mary Plumb.
The most severe injuries occurred when the microburst pushed a 75-foot houseboat carrying 14 people to shore and blew it over near Padre Canyon, Plumb said.
A 60-year-old woman on board lost her arm, although it is unclear whether it had been severed during the incident or later amputated at a hospital, and a 57-year-old woman suffered head and hip injuries. Others were thrown off the boat by the draft.