On June 23rd a 47 year old Kansas woman died in a commercial rafting accident on the Fractions section of the Arkansas River. According to information supplied by the AHRA, the woman was on a trip with Canyon Marine of Salida, CO when she and four other customers fell out of a raft carrying 7 people when it hit a rock in the Narrows section of the Fractions. Two of the people thrown from the raft were rescued immediately while two others self rescued by swimming to shore. The victim was recovered when the guide performed a strong swimmer rescue after the victim was in the water for approximately ¼ mile. CPR was begun immediately and the victim was transported to the Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.

The group was a single raft commercial trip that put in at the railroad bridge at the bottom of the numbers. The victim was wearing a wet suit, paddle jacket, booties and PFD. The flow at the time of the accident was 1570 cfs, a moderate level, and actually somewhat low for this time of year.

An autopsy is being performed and I will post more information will be as it becomes available.

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