WASHINGTON - A Virginia family is in anguish, waiting for word about their missing father. He was on a work boat that capsized Monday morning under the Key Bridge. The Coast Guard officially called off the search for man Monday at 9 p.m.
It’s believed the large amount of debris in the water may have had something to do with the mishap. After the tragedy, there is no work going on under the Key Bridge Tuesday. But there was continued outrage.
People are wondering why D.C.’s Department of Transportation allowed workers on a pontoon boat on a river that is so dangerous and at a 10-year high in flood stage.
The river crested about three feet above flood stage at Great Falls National Park Monday evening. The water was so high, the famous huge rocks disappeared under the fast-moving water. Logs and whole trees were tossed like twigs in the raging current.
While the river is wider and calmer at the Key Bridge, on Monday, huge logs and branches looked like cars on a crowded Washington highway.
David Burns used to row on the Potomac with his high school team and said he had never seen it so bad.
"It's the debris here that can kill you," he said. "One good log or one big stick in the head or breaking a bone, that's enough right there, and it's moving fast. It might've hit someone in the head and knocked them unconscious. That's disturbing."
No one knows what happened to the missing man. He was on a pontoon boat that capsized. The boat was eventually hoisted up on a barge that also was involved in the mishap.
The missing man’s name is Emmanuel Quarshie. The 56-year-old lives in Alexandria with his 14-year-old daughter. Samuel Quarshie is his younger brother.
"I can’t believe they allow the workers to come and work. Can see a lot of roots and big trees and all of that running through that. You fall in and the wood hits you, you’re done," he said.
Others are also questioning the D.C. Department of Transportation's safety policy.
"I’d be very concerned if someone has done a proper health safety check. I don’t know how many days of rain you’ve had, but it looks to me like it’s a dangerous situation and an accident waiting to happen," said Paul Rutter, who is visiting from London.
Before noon Tuesday, WUSA9 sent several questions to DDOT asking about the work being done at the Key Bridge, the safety measures and why the department put people on a pontoon boat on the river. No answers were returned, but DDOT did send this statement late in the day:
"Any loss of life is tragic and our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family. The incident is currently under investigation and DDOT is tracking the progress of those investigations."
