Teen killed in 'out of control' jet ski crash on celebratory family holiday

A teenage girl has died and her sister left injured following a horror jet ski crash during a family holiday to celebrate a graduation milestone.

Emergency services raced to the scene after they were alerted to reports of the crash shortly after 3:30pm local time on Tuesday. Rachel Aliza Nisanov, 13, and Aviva Brancha Nisano, 16, had been riding on the jet ski when they struck the dock at the Intracoastal Waterway inFort Lauderdale, Florida.

Both girls were taken to Broward Health Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, local media reported. Tragically, Rachel did not survive and Aviva, who was driving the jet ski, remains in hospital.

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A fire and rescue spokesperson said it was unclear how exactly the crash happened. Brother Yonah told WTVJ his sisters were "coming back to the dock" when "they lost control".

Yonah told the network they had travelled down to Florida from New York to celebrate Rachel's recent graduation. He added their dad, a rabbi, was on another jet ski at the time.

He added: "My father doesn't even know how to swim, he jumped in, my sisters were unconscious, their life jackets were on, they were lying flat and my father jumped in and scraped up his hands, feet, his back all over to save them."

A friend of the family, who also works with Florida Highway Patrol, said in an interview with WPLG: "The father... he says he looked and they were gone."

Esteban Granados, who owns the company that rented out the jet skis to the family, said the sisters finished an online safety course before they took the jet skis out onto the water, although they had no other experience.

The Prime Watersports owner said: "It was their first time. That’s why I was stressing all the safety instructions to them." An investigation is now being carried out by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

New York State Attorney General Letita James said: "My heart is with Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov and his family today as they mourn the passing of their daughter, and I'm praying her sister pulls through as she fights for her life. May Rachel Aliza Nisanov’s memory be a blessing."