From Bruce Pierce: The Androscoggin River is at a low that I have not seen
before. They were in the Wilsons Rips section of the river from West Bethel to
Bethel. Wilsons Rips is generally a short fun class 1&1/2 to 2 riffle. I
can only imagine what it was at this H2O level, Boney probably.
The victim was sitting in the middle of the canoe, and was
trapped under the boat when it flipped on a rock. I spoke to the owner of the livery where they rented from
and they are very informative about the river, their safety and use of PFD's. I
also spoke to Sargent Barboza of IF&W who was on scene and he said it was
really just an unfortunate freak accident.
Maryland woman, 75, drowns after canoe tips over in
Bethel
The victim got trapped under the
canoe after it flipped with her husband and daughter also tossed into the
Androscoggin River.
By Staff report
BETHEL — A Maryland
woman drowned Wednesday evening when the canoe she and her family had rented
overturned in the Androscoggin River. Xiaolian Ding, 75, of
Silver Spring, Maryland, drowned after she became trapped under the canoe at
about 5:30 p.m., according to Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Warden
Service.
Ding, her husband, Nimin
Wang, 82, and her daughter, Qiong Wang, 49, all of Silver Spring, had just
started their trip downriver when the canoe became stuck on a rock, according
to Latti. Nimin Wang was paddling
from the stern, with Qiong Wang paddling at the bow and Xiaolian sitting in the
middle.
Nimin and Qiong tried to
push the canoe off the rock, and as they did it overturned, with Nimin and
Qiong thrown out and Xiaolian trapped underneath as it floated downriver.
The accident happened in
a stretch of the river off North and Hemlock Ridge roads. Latti said the father
and daughter were able to get the canoe and Xiaolian to shore while a witness
on the opposite riverbank called 911.
Xiaolian was
unresponsive once on shore, and efforts by Nimin and Quiong to revive Xiaolian
were unsuccessful, as were later efforts by Bethel Rescue emergency workers.
