Student describes his rescue Brattleboro Reformer/ AP Monday, April 21 KEENE, N.H. (AP) — A Keene State College student who got caught in a river current after going over a low-head dam in an inflatable pool has been released from the hospital and is doing fine, his friends said. Alex Perry was treated for exhaustion and hypothermia after he and a friend tried to maneuver the Ashuelot River Park falls in the kiddie pool Friday evening. The pair had spent the afternoon floating along the river’s lazy current as it winds through the campus and debated for a while whether to go over the falls, said sophomore Samuel Wood, 21, of Laconia, who decided at the last minute to head for shore instead. Perry, 18, and Corey Loonan, 19, headed over the falls. Wood said a crowd gathered, with some urging them to go for it and others warning that the falls were more dangerous than they looked. Perry of Westborough, Mass., ended up spending the night in the hospital after being trapped within the rushing current for at least 10 minutes. “We really thought it would be fine, even when we were going over,” said Loonan of Sandwich, Mass. A certified lifeguard, Loonan managed to swim to shore shortly after the pool capsized. Rescue personnel from the Keene Fire Department were able to pull Perry to safety after he bobbed in and out of the water several times, finally surfacing just feet from their boat. They also had to rescue a woman who jumped in to try to save him. Copyright © 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. College student describes river rescueMonday, April 21, 2008KEENE, N.H. (AP) – A Keene State College student who got caught in ariver current after going over a dam in an inflatable pool has beenreleased from the hospital and is doing fine, his friends said.Alex Perry was treated for exhaustion and hypothermia after he and afriend tried to maneuver the Ashuelot River Park falls in the kiddiepool Friday evening. The pair had spent the afternoon floating alongthe river’s lazy current as it winds through the campus and debatedfor a while whether to go over the falls, said sophomore Samuel Wood,21, of Laconia, who decided at the last minute to head for shoreinstead.Perry, 18, and Corey Loonan, 19, headed over the falls. Wood said acrowd gathered, with some urging them to go for it and others warningthat the falls were more dangerous than they looked.”Nobody wanted to tell us to stop beforehand. It was right when wewere about to go over that they started saying we should get out,” hesaid.Perry of Westborough, Mass., ended up spending the night in thehospital after being trapped within the rushing current for at least10 minutes.”We really thought it would be fine, even when we were going over,”said Loonan of Sandwich, Mass. A certified lifeguard, Loonan managedto swim to shore shortly after the pool capsized.Rescue personnel from the Keene Fire Department were able to pullPerry to safety after he bobbed in and out of the water severaltimes, finally surfacing just feet from their boat. They also had torescue a woman who jumped in to try to save him.Loonan said Perry’s mother didn’t sound very surprised to hear of hismisadventure.”She said he does stupid stuff all the time,” Loonan said.None of the students had heard of Mark Boucher, 33, of Ashburnham,Mass., the kayaker who is still listed in critical condition atDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center after being trapped under thefalls on April 6. Boucher had not gone over the falls, but was pulledin when his kayak capsized below them.http://www.sunjournal.com/story/261779-3/National/NH_student_rescued_from_river_after_stunt/N.H. student rescued from river after stuntSunday, April 20, 2008KEENE, N.H. (AP) – A Keene State College student from Massachusettsis lucky to be alive after floating over a dam in an inflatablekiddie pool, and getting trapped in the churning current.Keene firefighters grabbed the exhausted student as he sank in thefrigid river Friday evening. They also had to rescue a woman whojumped in to try to save him.”He went over the dam, got caught in the turbulent water and wasclinging to the pool,” said Deputy Fire Chief Mark Boynton. “When youget in (the swirling current), you can’t get out.”Boynton said two people were in the kiddie pool, intending to floatover the dam, when one bailed out. The other, Alex Perry, 19, ofWestborough, Mass., went over and got trapped in the churning waterat Ashuelot River Park.As firefighters inflated their special rescue boat, a woman who waswatching jumped into the 40-degree water and began swimming towardthe struggling teen, Boynton said.”She said she couldn’t watch him drown,” he said.The well-intentioned gesture complicated the rescue, becausefirefighters had to rescue the woman on their way to the teen. Herextra weight in the boat made it difficult to maneuver throughthe “boil” of water below the dam.As the firefighters fought to get to him, Perry either let go out ofexhaustion, or was yanked away from his float by the current.”A witness saw him churn in the boil three times before heresurfaced,” said Boynton. Perry popped up about 15 feet in front ofthe boat, but couldn’t stay afloat.”He went under four more times before getting to the boat,” Boyntonsaid. “They reached into the water and managed to grab his hand.”The woman apparently was not injured. Boynton said when they got toshore, she left, but told bystanders she was fine and glad the teenhad been rescued.Boynton said the area is so dangerous that rescuers often train therefor swift-water rescues.He said the dam doesn’t look like much, with a three- or four-footdrop this time of year, when the river is high.”That’s what leads you to being deceived,” he said. “With all thatwater going over … it’s just moving in circular motion that youcan’t get out of.”The current pulls victims toward the dam and holds them there, hesaid.On April 6, kayaker Mark Boucher, 33, of Ashburnham, Mass., waspulled under after his boat capsized close to the dam.He still is in critical condition at Dartmouth-Hitchcock MedicalCenter.