June 9: Callous action by the captain of a leisure ship operating in the Florida Keys resulted in the death of an Indian American woman from Schaumburg, Illinois, and injuries to her young son and nephew.

Supraja Alaparthi, her son, Sriakshith, and nephew, Vishant Sadda, were parasailing when a sudden storm allegedly prompted the captain of the ship, Daniel Couch, to cut loose the parasail after he feared that it might drag the ship under water.

“Dramatic footage captured a mother and two children being dragged along the water while parasailing in the Florida Keys before smashing into a bridge, killing her.

“The video shows the moment a sudden storm allegedly prompted Captain Daniel Couch to cut the line connecting his ship to Supraja Alaparthi, 33, who was parasailing with her son, Sriakshith, 10, and nephew, Vishant Sadda, 9.

“The Illinois mom and the young boys were left to the mercy of the gusts, which grabbed the parasail and dragged them two miles across the ocean, eventually slamming them against the Old Seven-Mile Bridge, in Marathon, WPLG reported.

“Alaparthi, of Schaumburg, died as a result while a local fishing guide was able to reach the injured boys and save their lives in a harrowing rescue.”: Daily Mail

Parasailing also turned deadly for two tourists in Key West two years ago. A Key West boat captain remains charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence for the deaths of Nicholas Hayward, 37, of Costa Rica, and Azalea Silva, 29, of San Antonio, Texas. Andrew John Santeiro is accused of causing the deaths by operating a Sunset Watersports boat in winds deemed too strong for parasailing under Florida law, according to the arrest warrant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He has pleaded not guilty and the case is pending at the Monroe County Courthouse: Miami Herald

The Parasail Safety Council reports more than 70 people have been killed and at least 1,800 injured between 1982 and 2012, out of an estimated 170 million parasail rides during those 30 years.

According to a National Safety Transportation Board report in 2015, between 3 million and 5 million people parasail every year, and eight have died since 2009. There are no federal rules regulating the training or certifying of parasail operators or the inspection of equipment, the report found.