At least one person dead and more injured after private boat collides with ferry carrying over 40 passengers

At least one person is dead and multiple others are injured after a private boat crashed into a ferry in Florida.

Police in the US state declared a 'mass casualty event' on Sunday (27 April) night, after the deadly collision near the Memorial Causeway Bridge.

The recreational vessel struck the Clearwater Ferry, which was carrying 43 passengers and two crew members, at around 10pm local time before fleeing the scene, according to reports.

Cops said that another law enforcement agency had later tracked down the private boat, as well as announcing that one ferry passenger had passed away.

It is believed that those onboard the Clearwater Ferry had been travelling home from the final night of the Sugar Sand Festival.

In a statement regarding the incident, which was shared on X, the Clearwater Police Department said that a couple of passengers had been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.

At least one person is dead after a boat smashed into the ferry in Clearwater (Clearwater Police/Clearwater Fire Rescue)

"Multiple trauma alerts have been called with helicopters transporting two of the more seriously injured," the force said.

"The crash involved the Clearwater Ferry, which had more than 40 people on board. All of the injuries are from the ferry. The boat that struck the ferry fled the scene.

"The ferry came to rest on a sandbar just south of the Memorial Causeway bridge. All patients and passengers have been removed from the boat."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will now take over the investigation into the fatal crash.

A search was launched for the private boat, which left the scene in wake of the incident and the vessel has since been identified.

"The boat that fled the scene has been identified by another law enforcement agency," police said.

Police said the smaller vessel fled the scene following the incident (X)

It is reported that six people were travelling on the smaller boat, who are understood to have not suffered any injuries.

Clearwater Police spokesperson, Rob Shaw, added: "We believe that the boat responsible for hitting the ferry left the scene immediately, and we believe that our law enforcement partners may have that boat."

One passenger who was onboard the ferry, Marco Vacheco, told how the passenger vessel was 'hit from behind' when speaking to 10 Tampa Bay.

"It was like a big yacht, it hit from behind, like it came through where the captain sits, like he was pinned down," he explained.

His wife Brenda Alvarez told ABC Action News the impact of the collision caused her 'whole body to hurt.'

Discussing the damage, she said: "It's horrible. It shattered, it shattered the whole back of the boat, left a huge dent.

"We just wanted to get to our cars and get home. We never, you never expect anything to happen."

Alvarez also praised emergency responders for quickly helping her husband and their two children to safety.

"Where we were, it was really shallow, so there was actually some paramedics that went out there and helped my children and I get off the boat," she said.