NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- As authorities continued investigation into the cause of a tour boat wreck in upstate New York Sunday that killed 20 people, the captain of the capsized boat said on Monday that his boat was hit by waves and turned over as he tried unsuccessfully to steer out of them.

    The 40-foot tour boat "Ethan Allen" flipped over so quickly that none of the 47 passengers could put on a life jacket before they fell into Lake George, about 80 kilometers north of the capital city Albany.

    Passengers were from Michigan, but their names were not immediately disclosed. There were earlier reports that put the toll at 21, but hospital sources said it was 20.

    A total of 27 people were taken to a hospital in nearby Glens Falls. Some suffered broken ribs and others complained of shortness of breath. Seven survivors were admitted, hospital sources said.

    Mark Rosenker, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the investigation would focus on the history of the boat, the pilot's history, the rules and regulations the boat operated under and whether the boat carried enough crew members.

    "It's much too early to determine what happened out on that lake," Rosenker said.

    But according to some state officials, the boat was last inspected in May and no problems were found.

    There had been hundreds of boats on Lake George on the sunny Sunday afternoon, causing "a lot of wave action," Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland said earlier Monday. The boat's captain, Richard Paris, was the only crew member aboard, but that was allowed under state rules for a boat that size.

    All but one of the victims' families had been notified and some were en route to Lake George, authorities said.

    Police divers were back in the water Monday to raise the boat from the lake bottom. Divers will attach flotation bags to the boat, then pump it out and tow it to shore.

    The boat trip was arranged through Canadian-based Shoreline Tours, but a separate company, Shoreline Cruises, owns the boat.

    In a statement issue Monday, the company said it "is deeply saddened by yesterday's tragedy."

    Fourteen of the passengers were part of a group from Trenton, Michigan, on a week-long bus-and-rail trip to see changing fall colors in the East. Of the 14, three were killed, Trenton Mayor Gerald Brown said. Enditem