Details are sketchy at this point, but two fire department divers drowned yesterday trying to rescue a kayaker on Slippery Rock Creek near Pittsburgh. The kayaker flipped on a log and may have pinned (details unclear). The divers apparently went in ~1 hour later trying to "rescue" him (I've got to think it was a recovery, not a rescue at that point). The Slippery Rock is normally an intermediate run -- however, given that it was at something like 1300 CFS instead of last week's level of 350 CFS, it was probably quite pushy and getting difficult. This creek is also known for the numerous strainers which show up every spring -- it's not a place to be at high water conditions unless you know it well and have scouted the drops. It's unknown if the rescuers had whitewater rescue training. ---Rsk *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Apr 09 2001 - 15:27:14 PDT
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