Woman killed and 2 children injured in parasailing accident in Florida keys 

An Illinois woman was killed and two children were injured after a boat captain set loose their parasail in the face of a sudden storm near Pigeon Key, Florida, authorities said. 

When the captain cut loose the parasail, the family fell from an unknown height and were dragged across the ocean until the parasail slammed into the old Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys. 

Boat captain cut tow line in Florida parasailing accident that killed young mom https://t.co/BU14MZY1rP pic.twitter.com/0J28vv5Lov

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John Callion, a fishing boat captain, was nearby and saw the incident. He rushed to the parasail to help those involved in the accident. He pulled all three victims onto his boat and waited for the paramedics to arrive, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Tuesday. 

Callion found the 10-year-old boy awake but injured. The 9-year-old boy was tangled in the parasail’s lines and unconscious.

"The kid, he was letting me know, 'Help me, help me,'" Callion described. "We got him in the boat immediately. And then we got the other kid that was unconscious. And then we got his mom in the boat."

By the time paramedics arrived, the 33-year-old woman, Supraja Alaparthi, had already died, authorities said. The woman’s 10-year-old son and 9-year-old nephew were taken to the hospital. 

“It was pretty much flat calm, but you could see the storm coming. All of a sudden, the temperature dropped by 10 degrees and the wind started blowing like crazy,” Callion. 

“It was pretty much the worst thing you could imagine,” he said. “It was real bad.” 

The strong winds caused the parasail to drag the boat and the captain “cut a line tethered to the free victims,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. 

Parasailing safety consultant Mark McCulloh told The Associated Press that boat captains should never cut the parasail’s cord when people are in the air. 

”You run a huge risk because it’s windy. When the parasail lands in the water, it doesn’t stop moving," he said.

The Coast Guard and Florida’s wildlife agency are investigating the incident.