2 dead, 4 missing after boats crash on Wis. river

LAKE HALLIE, Wis. – Two people are dead and four are missing after two boats collided on the Chippewa River in western Wisconsin.

The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reports (http://bit.ly/q6udw3 ) a Princecraft boat, which is similar to a pontoon boat, was carrying six people when it hit a speedboat with four on board at about 9:45 p.m. Friday.

Chippewa County Undersheriff Eugene Gutsch says one person in each boat died. Three people taken to area hospitals late Friday night, and one man was arrested.

Officials searched the river until about 1:30 a.m. and then resumed again Saturday morning.

Gutsch says people on one boat had gathered for an upcoming wedding.

The investigation into the crash on the Lake Hallie side of the river continues.

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Information from: Leader-Telegram, http://www.leadertelegram.com/