At least one dead and several injured after the tourist boat capsized in the Lockport caves, New York

Police said an emergency response was underway at the Lockport Caves, a popular tourist attraction in the Niagara County city.

One dead and at least eight injured is the balance of the capsizing of a tourist boat carrying about 30 people in some caves in upstate New York, authorities reported.

Lockport Fire Chief Luca Quagliano said the boat was carrying about 28 passengers and an operator, and was sailing over the water of the Lockport Caves, a popular tourist attraction in Niagara County. Agents arrived at the site around 11:30 am. There were no children among the crew.

Police said in a press release that rescue teams from different agencies were involved in the salvage operations.

The deceased person was trapped under the boat, Quagliano said. Authorities did not immediately release his identity, only that he was a man and that his wife had been taken to hospital.

"The boat did a 180 degree turn, so it was upside down," he added. "Most of the people were on top of the boat when rescuers arrived."

Some of the passengers managed to escape on their own, Quagliano added. Rescuers used an inflatable boat to extricate 16 more people, eight of whom were taken to Eastern Niagara Hospital in Lockport.

One of the policemen who participated in the rescue efforts was hospitalized for hypothermia after spending too much time in the water to help the passengers.

“Eight of the passengers went into our emergency room,” said Patricia Brandt, a spokeswoman for Eastern Niagara Hospital in Lockport. “None are in critical condition. All are stable and some have already been discharged.

Brandt said he didn't know the nature of the injuries, but he sensed that at least some people were being treated for cold from being in the water, adding that some passengers had been taken to other hospitals.

Where did the incident occur?

The famous Niagara Falls are located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the site. In the tours that are organized on the site, the participants are taken to an underground passage illuminated only by small lights.

Tours in these caves have been organized for 150 years, according to a News 4 report, and the water inside is between 4 and 6 feet (1.2 and 1.8 meters) high, according to the New York Upstate site. However, Quagliano stated that there are parts of the route that can reach up to 5 and 8 feet deep (1.5 and 2.4 meters).

The tunnel where the incident occurred was built in the 19th century to generate power with water from the Erie Canal.