72-year-old man dies after falling overboard from pontoon boat

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT/Gray News) - A Florida man has died following a boating accident on Watts Bar Lake on Friday afternoon.

State wildlife officials identified the man as 72-year-old Stephen Mason of Homosassa, Florida.

According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Mason was boating with his wife and friends near Sand Island when he fell overboard from a pontoon boat.

Mason sustained severe bodily injuries. Emergency responders performed life-saving measures on the water and transported him to the Watts Bar Dam boat ramp, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wildlife officials noted that Mason was not wearing a life jacket at the time of the fall.

Mason’s body was transported to the Meigs County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Tennessee authorities said this was the 16th boating-related fatality in the state this year.