Pocono News Section

Rescue Boat Overturns During River Rescue

Rescue Boat Overturns During River Rescue - Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 11:00PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Saturday, Jun 20, 2009 @ 11:00pm EST
BOWMANSTOWN, CARBON COUNTY- The recent heavy rains have caused rivers to become fast and furious. Saturday afternoon one woman needed to be rescued on the Lehigh River in Carbon County, but not just once. Her rescue boat also overturned and she needed help for a second time.

Just before 3:30 Saturday dive teams and first responders converged on the Lehigh River in Bowmanstown. This is where one raft with Pocono Whitewater Tours got tied up with a tree when it was hit by two other rafts.

A 48-year-old woman went into the water. She became trapped. Pocono Whitewater General Manager Tom Groves said, “Someone became stuck with the raft and then they were extricated."

She was extricated by rangers with the Fish & Boat Commission. But they weren't safe just yet. Because of rough waters, the rescue boat overturned too.

James Hart saw the second accident. He told Eyewitness News, “They were trying to turn it around to get towards shore and they hit a wave while they were turning and it flipped the boat over."

Hart was on the river at the time. He's an Eagle Scout who sprung into action and saved one of the rangers. “We pulled him over to the shore and got him up and got him in our boat," he said.

Hart says the other two people were also rescued despite rough water conditions. “It was going a lot faster than it normally does. It was pretty rough at some points," he added.

Tour organizers call Saturday's river rescue an accident. They say tours are rarely cancelled because of heavy rains. “There's lots of different things that come into that. Water temperature, air temperature, section of the river," said Groves.

The 48-year-old woman who originally was trapped in the water was the only person taken to the hospital. She's expected to be okay.