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PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. -- Two Indiana teenagers remained in critical condition at a Florida Panhandle hospital on Tuesday after a parasailing accident off Panama City Beach.
The 17-year-olds were parasailing near the beach on Monday when a line attached to the boat broke and they crashed in to a building, power line and parked car, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The FWC is investigating the incident. According to a release, Sidney Renea Good of Roanoake , Ind., and Alexis Fairchild of Huntington, Ind., remained hospitalized in critical condition at Bay Medical Center on Tuesday.
Witnesses told The News Herald ( http://goo.gl/RNvB2) that strong winds caught the detached parasail and tossed the teenagers around the beach after the line broke.
Vacationers Cole Adair and Michael Kennedy, both from Georgia, told the newspaper that they tried to help after the parasail smashed into a SUV on the ground.
"It was gruesome," Kennedy said.
Kennedy and Adair said both victims went limp after crashing into the side of The Commodore Condominiums and stayed that way for several seconds before they reached the ground.
"It seemed like a long time," Adair said.
Tourist Amy Barron said she saw the women hit either a power line or a utility pole before they crashed in the parking lot.
"We knew they were going to hit, but there was nothing we could do about it," Barron said.
FWC spokeswoman Karen Parker said investigators are looking into the possibility of an equipment failure. She said the investigation could be lengthy.
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