State and local first responders rescued a total of 10 kayakers and boaters Sunday from the Potomac River after they encountered rough waters, according to authorities.
Four of those rescued were hoisted to safety by a helicopter operated by the Maryland State Police Aviation Command. In a dramatic social media video, state police shared footage from the rescues, showing the kayakers sitting in a rescue basket dangling beneath a black and yellow helicopter and above trees lining the river.
Take a look at the video at this link.
Pete Piringer, chief public information officer for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS), told MoCo360 Monday that crews initially were dispatched around 2:30 p.m. to the upper Potomac River area near Seneca for a report of someone stranded on rocks.
As MCFRS rescue crews as well as those from Virginia’s Loudoun and Fairfax counties responded to the call, emergency dispatchers received another call reporting two people in the water downriver. According to Piringer, the two were reported near Blockhouse Point Conservation Park & Trails.
Then, while assisting the initial call, Piringer said rescuers learned there were four other people stranded on an island near the Seneca site. He noted that during the rescues it became clear to rescuers that all of the people in need of rescue were part of one group that had become separated as they kayaked downriver.
“We deployed a lot of resources, a lot of boats, including the helicopter from Maryland State Police and the Park Police helicopter,” Piringer said.
First responders on the scene requested an aerial rescue because they were unable to get their rescue boats close to the island due to “swift-moving” waters, state police said in a statement Monday.
The Frederick-based helicopter crew, Trooper 3, hovered the helicopter above the river and conducted three separate hoists, rescuing those stranded on an island in the river, state police said. Sitting in the helicopter’s hoist rescue basket, the kayakers were lifted away to land on the Virginia side of the river.
The other people stranded on the river were helped by swift water rescue crews, according to Piringer. Four were rescued from rocks in the river and two were pulled out of the water.
“It was all resolved within an hour. And everybody … [was] eventually reunited,” Piringer said.
All 10 were examined after they were rescued, and no injuries were reported.
Piringer, who was not at the scene Sunday, said it was unclear how the group became stranded or separated from their boats.
He noted that the northern section of the river is more accessible to recreational boating, which is likely where the group began their adventure. Kayakers and boaters with higher skill levels typically will go farther down the river near Great Falls, he said.
“The water level is tricky, it changes literally every day,” Pringer said. “When the water [level is] low, it’s extremely difficult [and] dangerous because rocks appear that are usually underwater … And when the water is high, the rocks are under the water and the currents change a bit.”
For those interested in kayaking or boating in the river, Piringer recommends checking the weather and river conditions, never going out alone, wearing proper protective gear and going with someone who has previous knowledge and experience.
