ledhead36
03-29-2008, 07:09 AM
still a little cold out there, be careful, people.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - A firefighter rescued an Eau Claire man from the Chippewa River on Tuesday after his kayak overturned, authorities said.
"He tried to get toward shore, but he could only make it so far before the current picked him up and took him back out," said a witness, Cody Downey of Eau Claire.
Downey was one of about a half-dozen people fishing from the bank Tuesday when Chad R. Bernard, 33, went into the water. Downey called authorities after another fisherman noticed Bernard's overturned boat and the man in the river.
A firefighter wearing a cold-water rescue suit swam out to Bernard with a circular life preserver attached to a rope. The firefighter grabbed Bernard, and the two were towed to shore by other firefighters.
Bernard was taken to Luther Hospital were he was treated for moderate hypothermia.
He was kayaking on an area of the river where a natural rock shelf creates rapids.
Bernard's kayak apparently struck a rock and turned sideways. The rapids then caused the vessel to overturn, Fire Department Battalion Chief Duane Grunst said.
Bernard was in the water for 20 to 30 minutes.
"He got caught in an eddy and couldn't swim to shore," Grunst said.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - A firefighter rescued an Eau Claire man from the Chippewa River on Tuesday after his kayak overturned, authorities said.
"He tried to get toward shore, but he could only make it so far before the current picked him up and took him back out," said a witness, Cody Downey of Eau Claire.
Downey was one of about a half-dozen people fishing from the bank Tuesday when Chad R. Bernard, 33, went into the water. Downey called authorities after another fisherman noticed Bernard's overturned boat and the man in the river.
A firefighter wearing a cold-water rescue suit swam out to Bernard with a circular life preserver attached to a rope. The firefighter grabbed Bernard, and the two were towed to shore by other firefighters.
Bernard was taken to Luther Hospital were he was treated for moderate hypothermia.
He was kayaking on an area of the river where a natural rock shelf creates rapids.
Bernard's kayak apparently struck a rock and turned sideways. The rapids then caused the vessel to overturn, Fire Department Battalion Chief Duane Grunst said.
Bernard was in the water for 20 to 30 minutes.
"He got caught in an eddy and couldn't swim to shore," Grunst said.