An 8-year-old boy from New York City remained in the hospital Thursday after suffering a serious injury on a zip line at a Winslow summer camp, Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said.
Meanwhile, the state Fire Marshal’s Office is continuing to investigate what happened at Camp Caribou, even though it does not regularly grant permits or inspect zip lines at summer camps, McCausland said.
The office does require permits and safety inspections for zip lines at commercial enterprises, but summer camps do not fall under that category, McCausland said.
“There is no oversight, no state fire marshal inspections for zip lines for summer camps,” he said.
The boy, whose name has not been released, was using the zip line to enter the water on Pattee Pond from a height of about 50 feet Tuesday when he slipped off the line and collided with a rowboat, according to McCausland and Winslow police.
The boat was being used as a safety boat with a camp staffer on board and might have drifted into the zip line’s path.
The boy was wearing a safety harness, but it is unknown whether he was wearing a helmet, McCausland said.
He was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta and then transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
A message left Thursday at Camp Caribou was not immediately returned.
The camp, located on a private 200-acre peninsula, serves boys ages 8 to 15 and has been in operation since 1923, according to its website.
The website also describes the zip line, or “AquaZip,” as part of a ropes course that is supervised by certified instructors and offers campers an opportunity to learn teamwork and excel as athletes.
The AquaZip starts off 65 feet up in a pine tree and sends campers 365 feet across a cove on Pattee Pond, the site says.
Rachel Ohm can be contacted at 612-2368 or at:
rohm@centralmaine.com
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