Boaters rescued from Cheat River Canyon
A group of boaters were rescued from Cheat Canyon after spending a night on the banks of the Cheat River.
Officials retrieved the five boaters Monday morning. Officials say four people were in a raft and one in a kayak Sunday afternoon when they went through a stretch of class 5 rapids known as the Coliseum. The group had been having issues with their raft before the rapids and decided it was best to get off the river and paddled to shore.
The group stopped on a stretch of river between Masontown and Albright and built a fire along the banks. One of the boaters climbed up the canyon far enough to get a cell phone signal and call 911.
Officials got the call around 8:10 Sunday evening but it was already getting too dark to attempt a vertical rescue. The boaters spent the night on the river bank and firefighters repelled down the canyon Monday morning and found the stranded group.
One man was treated for an injured wrist and a woman was treated for hypothermia. All five were co-workers and EMT's and paramedics.
See also:
http://www.thedaonline.com/opinion/article_b75e5a96-c463-11e3-a377-001a4bcf6...
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Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535, www.FrackCheckWV.net