RAFTING GUEST KILLED ON THE OCOEE

Near Ducktown, Tennessee : July 29, 1994

DESCRIPTION: The Ocoee is a delightful class III+ dam-release play stream which sees a lot of commercial traffic. The victim, Harold McAlister, 70, had been down the river before. He had just launched on a late afternoon guided trip on July 29th when his raft hit Grumpy Hole and everyone fell out. The other guests were recovered with throw ropes, but Mr. McAlister floated face down 150 yards to the eddy below Whirlybird where he was pulled into a raft. Resuscitation efforts began immediately, but were not successful.

SOURCE: Lance Crawford, Ocoee River Ranger; NORS Currents

ANALYSIS: It's not clear to me why such a short swim caused this fatality but it does happen from time to time on commercial trips.