PANAMA CITY BEACH — At least two people were injured in a parasailing crash Monday afternoon, officials and witnesses said.
Witnesses said strong winds tossed two young women, possibly in their mid- to late teens, after a line connecting them to a boat detached. Several witnesses said the victims were in a tandem harness under a parachute that detached from a boat.
Cole Adair and Michael Kennedy, on vacation from Georgia, were bleeding after they jumped a fence to get to the victims, who smashed into a condominium and then were carried into a power line near Thomas Drive before crashing into several vehicles in the parking lot, where they came to rest.
The victims' impact caved in the roof and front windshield of the SUV in the parking lot.
Kennedy and Adair said the women appeared to have sustained serious injuries.
"It was gruesome," Kennedy said.
The identities of the victims have not been released and their condition was unknown Monday evening. They were rushed to the hospital. Others who came to their aid in the parking lot said both were breathing, but only one was conscious.
Kennedy and Adair said both victims went limp after crashing into the side of The Commodore Condominiums and stayed that way for several seconds before they reached the ground.
"It seemed like a long time," Adair said.
Amy Barron, of Alabama, watched helplessly from the RV park across Thomas Drive. She said she saw the women hit either a power line or a utility pole before they crashed in the parking lot.
"We knew they were going to hit, but there was nothing we could do about it," Barron said.
Parker Dixon, of Georgia, said he saw an electrical explosion when the victims made contact with the power line or pole.
The incident happened around 4 p.m. as a storm passed.
Investigators with the Bay County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission were on scene interviewing witnesses as crowds gathered to watch from the balconies of nearby rental units.