Final photos before deadly boat tragedy

CHILLING photos have emerged of friends enjoying an end-of-summer boat ride, moments before a fatal crash.

TRAGIC, final Instagram photos have emerged of friends enjoying a boat ride before a deadly head-on crash with another recreational boat on a river near California.

Passengers were thrown into Colorado River when a Hallett boat carrying 10 people and a Sleekcraft carrying six people collided on Saturday while Americans were celebrating the Labor Day long weekend.

The force of the impact caused both boats to sink.

Nine people were injured in the crash, with two people taken to hospital with critical injuries, and four people were missing after the crash.

The body of one of the missing people, intensive care unit nurse Christine Lewis, 51, was found on Monday in a section of the river close to Arizona, near the border with California.

Friends Kirra Drury and Raegan Heitzig are missing after two recreational boats collided on the Colorado River. Picture: @lil_rae_rae_

Authorities have found the body of Christine Lewis, of California, who was also missing after the crash.

Three people are still missing and feared dead: friends Kirra Drury and Raegan Heitzig, and another passenger, Brian Grabowski, who were on the Hallett. Mr Grabowski’s wife is among the passengers recovering in hospital.

Ms Drury and Ms Heitzig had uploaded photos during their boat ride to Instagram shortly before the crash.

Loved ones have paid tribute to the missing girls in the comments.

“Oh, Kirra. Your, young, driven self. My tears fall for you throughout my days,” one person commented on a photo of Ms Drury on the Hallett before it crashed.

“Your presence anywhere was so noticed, loved and adorable. This story has my stomach turning. You’re such an amazing person.

“If you’re found, I love you. If you’re not found, I love you. And your life has been loved many. I pray to god you are found. I pray you’re calling for help somewhere.”

Helicopters are supporting land and sea searches for Ms Drury, Ms Heitzig and Mr Grabowski by air and sea.

Authorities are scouring the coast and divers will be sent into the river, which runs as deep as nine metres.

“These efforts will continue until all of those who are missing and unaccounted for have been located,” Mohave County Sheriff Doug Shuster said.

A search and recovery boat scourers the Colorado River for the missing people. Picture: San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office via AP

A police diver team assist with the search for the missing boaters. Picture: Los Angeles Sheriff Department Special Enforcement Bureau via AP

The crash happened between two popular marinas on the Colorado River, which was packed with boaters enjoying the Labor Day weekend to mark the end of summer.

None of the people on the boats were wearing life jackets, which weren’t mandatory but were recommended by authorities, the sheriff said.

Investigators are looking into the cause of the crash and were yet to determine whether speed played a role.

Both boats were travelling at about 80kph when they collided, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“We haven’t come up with anything on contributing factors yet,” Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said.

“Once (the missing) are located, then we can continue pursuing that information.”