Coast Guard revokes Red Bull Flugtag's permit in Portland after boats block river



PORTLAND, Ore. -- The U.S. Coast Guard revoked the event permit for Red Bull's Flugtag event Saturday in Portland because there were so many boats on the Willamette River that commercial ships could not safely get by.

KGW reports 86,000 spectators were at this year's North American Flugtag in Portland. Coast Guard officials told the station that it was Red Bull's responsibility to keep a clear path.

Video posted to YouTube showed spectators getting upset as a Portland Spirit ship slowly made its way through the crowded waterway.

WARNING: Video contains graphic language



KGW reported that there was a minor collision between the ship and another boat but nobody was hurt.

Loud speaker messages instructed boaters to clear a path for the boat.

"They kept saying, 'Clear the channel, the Coast Guard's telling us to clear the channel, you gotta move, clear the channel,'" a man at the event told KPTV.

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said dropping an anchor there is prohibited because it is a federal channel for boat travel.

Red Bull announced the event had ended shortly after 4:30 p.m.