Morning Call (Pennsylvania)
BOWMANSTOWN, Pa. — A Saturday rafting trip on the Lehigh River in Carbon County nearly ended in tragedy when a 10-year-old girl was trapped underwater and lost consciousness, officials said.
The girl was rescued by another member of the rafting party — a paramedic who administered emergency breathing.
Scott J. Christman, a waterways conservation officer with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, gave this account:
The girl was on one of three large inflatable rafts making their way along the river near Bowmanstown shortly after 3 p.m.
The lead raft hit a “strainer” — a tree limb or other debris jutting from the water — and was hit by the second raft, which carried nine people, including the girl. The third raft then hit the second, causing it to capsize.
All the rafters were wearing flotation devices, but the girl was caught in the strainer and held underwater, Christman said.
The paramedic extricated and revived the girl. She was taken to Palmerton Hospital for observation, along with an adult woman who suffered a cut on the head when she fell into the water.
Christman would not release the names of the victim or the other rafters, but said the outing was a family affair and the girl and woman are from New York state.
Christman, who is based in Carbon County, said the increasing popularity of rafting has resulted in a dramatic increase in rescues. This was the ninth such incident his agency has responded to since the end of June.