UPDATED STORY: River accident

By medicinehatnews on May 30, 2017.

NEWS PHOTO TIM KALINOWSKI EMS personnel meet the Medicine Hat fire department's boat rescue team at the Strathcona Island Park boat launch Tuesday afternoon. Two female victims were involved in a rafting accident near Police Point Park. One victim was taken by stretcher from the boat and transported by ambulance.

According to the Medicine Hat Fire Service, two women were pulled from river late Tuesday afternoon following a 911 call from several witnesses on the shore near Preston Ave. and Police Point Park, who saw the two women struggling in the water beside their raft. One of the women was unharmed; the condition of the other is not known at this time.

“When we arrived on the scene,” said acting deputy watch commander Brett Vachewich, “we found one on the shore and the other in the water. We got to them fairly quickly because we had people along the shore who were in contact with 911.”

Firefighters retrieved the two women. One needed no additional care, the other was transported to hospital by ambulance.

The fire department jet boat team was deployed to bring the victims into shore.
The rescue boat was launched from Strathcona Island Park. Rescue personnel met the ambulance at the park’s boat launch, and EMS personal transported one women from the boat by stretcher at the scene.

Vaschewich said he cannot stress enough how dangerous the river is, and anyone looking to boat, swim or raft should contact the city to check on conditions first.

“Right now the river is flowing pretty fast,” he said.

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