Curse of Lake Lanier strikes again? Two people burned in boat fire at 'haunted' Georgia lake
Two people were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, Georgia with burn injuries after a boat fire on Saturday, June 3. The incident took place in the Big Creek Park area on the south end of Lake Lanier, authorities said. Lake Lanier has previously been in news for being "haunted" and "full of bodies."
Hall County Fire Services Division Chief Zach Brackett stated that the boat had four people, two adults and two juveniles, onboard in a cove near Big Creek Park. Brackett added the occupants jumped off the vessel after it caught fire. Brackett stated that two adults suffered burn injuries and were transported to the Atlanta-area hospital.
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Is Lake Lanier haunted or cursed?
Built in 1957 by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Lanier is a man-made lake that was built to control navigation and floods from the Chattahoochee River and to supply water for residents in the city of Atlanta. Located in North Georgia, only 60 miles from Atlanta, the more than 600 miles of shoreline edges five counties, including Hall, Forsyth, Dawson, Gwinnett, and Lumpkin, making it the largest lake in the state of Georgia.
The controversial lake has faced a series of tragic incidents that claimed the lives of multiple drowning victims. Over Memorial Day weekend, 30-year-old Reginald Terrell Whitehead went under the water and never came back after falling off of his jet ski. 24 hours prior to Whitehead’s accident, 61-year-old Michael Thompson of Gainesville sank near a boat dock on the lake. Just weeks before, on April 28, 17-year-old Dontay Lane of Lithonia was pulled from the water after nearly drowning. The latest reports list him in critical condition. Lake Lanier also took the life of 11-year-old Kile Glover, son of Usher’s ex-wife Tameka Foster, and who was critically harmed in a jet ski accident in 2012. As a result of the multiple incidents reported, residents and visitors alike have charged that the lake is haunted.
According to a CNN report, more than 200 people have lost their lives in swimming and boating accidents on the lake since 1994. And the Netflix drama 'Ozark', which has its own high body count, has filmed scenes at the lake. The stories about mysterious underwater sightings are spooky, especially on Halloween. But the true backstory of Lake Lanier, built over an underwater ghost town, is just as interesting. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, Lake Lanier experienced 57 boating fatalities and 145 drownings between 1999 and 2018. From 2015 to 2018 alone, Lake Lanier saw 43 lake-related deaths.