Ian Thompson reports that firefighters just retrieved a drowning victim from Deschenes rapids on the Ottawa River in Canada on May 28th. Deschenes Rapid is famous for the Ruins Wave in Spring. It’s about a kilometer wide, Class III, and first responders get lot of calls from there.
The victim was trying to retrieve a boat that had been stuck in the rapids for days. Got tangled in his own rope and swept into current. The victim was wearing PFD.
Ottawa Fire’s Water Rescue Team responded. They waded out and executed a tethered rescue. They cut the rope to release the body and pendulumed into shore with victim. CPR and defib protocol ensued. EMS transported to hospital.
More details. This was a boat that capsized last Friday.Everyone floated through the rapid and survived. Victim had tied himself to a tree on short and tied the other end around his waist then tried to wade out to boat. Water was waist deep so lost footing in current and clearly the pfd became superfluous.
