At least four boats sank on Saturday in Lake Travis, Texas, during an event attended by supporters of President Donald Trump, local authorities told
The New York Times
.
The Travis County Sheriff's Office confirmed receiving "multiple" calls from people who reported boats in trouble, beginning at 12:15 pm (local time).
"We responded to multiple calls from ships in distress, several of them sank," said Sheriff's spokeswoman Kristen Dark.
So far there are no reports of injuries and authorities have said they do not know the exact cause of the incident.
Dark reported that
the sinking of the boats is under investigation, but that there is no indication of an intentional act.
"We have no reason to suspect an illegal act," he declared.
[Several organizers of Trump's rally in Tulsa are ill with coronavirus. The city breaks the record for infections in one day]
The event in support of the president was promoted on Facebook under the name Trump Boat Parade.
It is not clear how many boats attended the lake, near the city of Austin.
The Facebook page promoting the event
encouraged boat owners of "all shapes and sizes" to participate and decorate them with "as many Trump flags as possible."
The boat meeting on the lake started around 11:30 am and was scheduled to end at 2:00 pm.
The sheriff's spokeswoman added that weather conditions in the area have been stable.
Quoted by the AP agency, meteorologist Paul Yura of the National Weather Service in Austin / San Antonio said there were no storms in the area at the time of the incident and that winds were approximately 10 mph (16 kph) or less.
"The lake should be quite navigable at these wind speeds
, without being a cause for problems," Yura explained.
[Trump and his controversial comments are applauded by thousands of supporters]
Lake Travis is a reservoir of approximately 19,000 acres (7,689 hectares) about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of the city of Austin.
This summer there have been water parades of Trump supporters in much of the country.
Some of these events have involved thousands of boats.
Trump himself has spoken out in support of these supporters.
"I wish I had time, I would get in one of those boats and also carry a flag," the president said
in a campaign video published in August.