A group of rafters marooned overnight on a small island on the Bow River were rescued Tuesday (Aug. 4) morning, west of Dead Man’s Flats.
Six rafters from Airdrie, ranging in age from their 20s to 50s, were pulled from the island at 7 a.m. by Kananaskis Public Safety officers with a boat, said Jeremy Mackenzie, Kananaskis visitor safety specialist.
“The major contributing factor was they ended up losing most or all of their paddles and so they weren’t able to continue downstream,” Mackenzie said. “They overturned their boats a couple of times in the cold water and even though they were equipped with life jackets, they just weren’t able to continue.”
Public safety officers attempted to locate the cold, wet and tired group Monday night, but were unsuccessful after daylight quickly ran out. The search began after sunrise the next morning where they were found and rescued.
“Other than being uncomfortable and hungry, they were totally fine,” said Mackenzie. He added the group was able to ignite a campfire for the night.
