Accident Database

Report ID# 698

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  • Pinned in Boat Against Strainer
  • Does not Apply
  • Failed Rescue

Accident Description

Slippery Rock Creek, a popular destination for intermediate kayakers in Western Pennsylvania, was the scene of a tragic triple fatality on April 8th. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Neil Balcer, 23, met his death while running the Class II lower stretch of Slippery Rock below Eckart Bridge. Balcer, a novice paddler, spotted a downed tree just above the Harris Bridge takeout. He flipped while taking evasive action and made several roll attempts before washing into the strainer. He became solidly pinned about 20 feet from shore. His PFD and helmet washed off and were recovered in an eddy below. Boaters in the vicinity rushed to the scene, but there was nothing they could do.

When firefighters arrived, paddlers told them that Balcer had been underwater for 45 minutes and was clearly dead. They suggested that they use a chain saw to cut the downed tree loose from shore. But the dive team from the Unionville Volunteer Fire Department had another plan They elected to have two men approach the strainer from upstream. Lines from shore were tied to static harnesses (which have no quick release), a procedure which has resulted in many firefighter deaths nationwide. In addition, the two men were connected by an additional line which created a serious snag hazard. Minutes later something went terribly wrong. It's not clear if the pair lost their footing or something became snagged, but the ropes pulled Anthony Murdick 25, and Scott Wilson, 25, under water. Both men, married with young children, were killed. A few minutes later the ropes were ordered cut, but by then it was too late. The pair were dead when they washed ashore below Harris Bridge.

The next day firefighters cut the downed tree at the shoreline, allowing Balcer and his kayak to wash free. This incident teaches us the importance of swiftwater rescue training, and that we shouldn't unnecessary risks to recover a person who is already dead.

 

Two rescue divers may have misjudged how treacherous Slippery Rock Creek had become during the spring thaw before they tried to recover the body of a kayaker Sunday and died themselves.
 
Investigators hope to learn from men's deaths
Creek tragedy cause may remain mystery
Tuesday, April 10, 2001
By Bill Heltzel, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
 
Two rescue divers may have misjudged how treacherous Slippery Rock Creek had become during the spring thaw before they tried to recover the body of a kayaker Sunday and died themselves.
Investigators may never know precisely what went wrong. But as rescue teams labored yesterday to free the body of kayaker Neil Balcer from the rapids, their thoughts were not far from the two men who had tried, and failed, the day before.
 
Many of the rescuers had known or worked with Anthony V. Murdick and Scott B. Wilson, 25-year-old divers with the Unionville Volunteer Fire Department. Wilson was engaged and had a 14-month-old son. He taught protective services occupational classes at the Butler County Area Vocational Technical School. As a volunteer firefighter, he "brought a wealth of experience," said school director Dr. Joseph Cunningham. Murdick was married and had a 6-month-old son. His father was a former fire chief.
 
Balcer had put into the creek Sunday with two friends, a father and son, at Eckert Bridge in McConnell's Mill State Park, 40 miles north of Pittsburgh. Police did not identify the father and son, who are reportedly from the Slippery Rock area. Balcer, 23, of Boyers, Butler County, grew up Ambridge and was a student at Slippery Rock State University.
All three were inexperienced kayakers, a park official said, having taken a course a few months ago, possibly in a swimming pool. Slippery Rock Creek is classified as a Class 2 to Class 3 stream.
 
"Class 3 rapids are not for novices," said R. Scott Domowicz, director of operations of Air Search Rescue, a volunteer group headquartered in Harmar.
 
The three men paddled for Harris Bridge near Mountville Road, where they were going to leave the creek. But about 200 yards upstream from the bridge, Balcer ran into trouble. A large tree limb was partly submerged in the creek. Experienced kayakers know to avoid such obstacles, because they can create a dangerous condition known as a strainer, in which water rushes forcefully around the limb. Balcer was unable to avoid the limb. One of the other kayakers told park manager Obie Derr that Balcer's kayak flipped in the rapids, and he was unable to right it. It drifted into the limb and wedged beneath it. The other two kayakers tried to rescue him. One grabbed his life jacket but it came off.
 
At 4:28 p.m. the Slippery Rock Township Volunteer Fire Department was notified of a "man pinned under rocks at the bridge," said Chief Philip Dean. When volunteers arrived, it was clear that Balcer was dead and trapped in the kayak beneath the limb. Several volunteer fire departments were called for backup. "When we need a dive team," Dean said, "we call Unionville."
 
A half-dozen divers arrived, and the rescue workers began planning the recovery of Balcer's body. The current was running at 2.5 knots or faster. A diver can swim against no more than 1.8 knots. The body and the kayak were about 20 feet from shore in about 15 feet of water, and rescuers anchored a floating platform upstream from the limb. By some accounts, the divers could wade into the water for a few feet. But then the creek deepens and there is no sure footing.
Their strategy was to tie a rope on the kayak or body and then pull it to shore, Dean said.
 
About 8 p.m., Murdick and Wilson attempted a recovery. Both were good and experienced divers, said Domowicz, but he didn't know whether they had training in swift-water rescues. Both divers wore wet suits, buoyancy-compensation vests and harnesses that were tethered to the shore. They were not wearing air tanks, fins, or regulators, and were not carrying cutting tools, all of which are considered standard gear for swift water rescues.
 
Domowicz said he would not second-guess that decision. He said they may have decided that tanks would restrict their mobility. Plus, he said, the river was deceptive. "It looks easy to get to [the kayak] in the current."
 
What happened next was unclear. Investigators began piecing together eyewitness accounts yesterday; and the following accounts had not been fully corroborated. Dean said the divers seemed to have gotten hung up on something in the water, and the current began to pull them under. The Unionville fire department said in a press release that Wilson "became distressed and was being assisted back to a floating platform."
 
The men were floundering, their heads still above water, but their harnesses were pulling them under.
Then, perhaps succumbing to the cold water, exhaustion and the force of the current, the men went under.
Their comrades cut their ropes, in the hope the men would pop up or save themselves. Instead, they were carried downstream, perhaps submerged the whole way. They washed ashore below the Harris Bridge.
 
They were flown to Ellwood City Hospital, where they were pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m. 
 
Air Search Rescue was called in to help recover Balcer's body. Domowicz and his team arrived at 3 a.m. and began staging a complex, dangerous operation. Then they devised a plan. They would tie a rope onto the limb and cut the other end, allowing the rest of the limb to swing open like a door and dislodge the kayak and body.
Preparations took several hours.
 
Back at the Unionville fire department, the volunteers honored their fallen comrades. Wilson and Murdick were the first in its history to die in the line of duty. Their pictures and uniforms were set up on a table outside. The station bell was rung 14 times, the company's number.
 
Shortly after noon, Balcer's family gathered on the bridge. Some held small crosses made of palm fronds. The Rev. Ben Vaghetto of St. Vincent DePaul Church in New Castle read prayers and comforted them.
 
At 1:03 p.m., a horn sounded to alert rescue teams. But before a crew could cut the limb, their weight on the limb dislodged the kayak. It bobbed up, drifted downstream, and was corralled at 1:06 p.m. But there was no body, and rescuers weren't sure where it was. It was still in the first set of rapids, under the limb. At 1:41 p.m., the horn sounded again. The limb was cut. The body was freed. As it drifted downstream, some family members wept, some held their heads in anguish. A young woman dropped a red rose into the creek. A crew in a motor boat pulled the body out.
 
Air Search Rescue, as well as investigators from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, state police and the state parks bureau, were investigating." What should have been a normal trip down the river turned into a disaster," Domowicz said. "We hope to learn something from these deaths in the hope that they did not die in vain."
 
Staff writer Antonio Gilb contributed to this report.



 

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