A Sunday afternoon family outing turned into a family tragedy on the Arkansas River when a job-boat overturned, resulting in the death of a six-year old child and an ongoing search for his parents who were reportedly not wearing life jackets at the time of the accident.
William and Christy Farhat and their children Physher, 7, and Weston, 4, all of Arkoma, were in a 12 foot jon-boat that capsized in the swift waters of the river on the LeFlore County side of the W.D Mayo Lock and Dam 14 on the Robert S. Kerr navigation system. The dam is located in a rural area of LeFlore County just off of State Highway 701 near the Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center.
Physher Farhat, 6, was pulled from the water by rescuers that found him floating in the water and transported by helicopter to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock where he later died.
Four year- old Weston Farhat managed to get out of the swift water and make it to the bank and suffered cuts and bruises from crawling on the rocks on the shore. After being treated at the scene he transported to Sparks Regional medical Center in Fort Smith
The search for the parents was called off shortly before Midnight. Rescue crews were back on the scene early this morning.
The Sebastian County Rescue Boat and deputies unit helped in the rescue attempts.
Dennis W. McCaslin
Dennis McCaslin has been a longtime news and sports reporter for several media outlets in the Fort Smith area. He has also been a well known radio personality and play-by-play announcer for several years prior to joining InsideFortSmith.Com. He is the voice of the ArklahomaSports High School Game of the Week. E-mail: [email protected]
