ATLANTA — Two people had to be rescued from the Chattahoochee River Saturday night after their inflatable tubes began to deflate.
Atlanta Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Jeff Cutrer said the call came in at around 10 p.m. from the two men who got stranded on the river after dark.
The two who needed help were near the Paces Mill Boat Ramp.
Cutrer said the two had “no personal floatation devices other than some inner tubes and needed our assistance to get out of the river.”
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He said the effort was a coordinated effort between the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department Swift Water Team, the Atlanta Police Aviation Unit and the Cobb County Swift Water team.
Using drone technology and the Atlanta Police Department’s Phoenix helicopter, responders pinpointed the victims’ location despite dense fog and darkness.
Both were safely rescued and turned over to emergency medical services with no reported injuries.
At the Powers Island boat ramp in Sandy Springs, tubers and kayakers flocked to the Chattahoochee on Sunday. Jonathan and Kristin Davis go tubing on the river about once a week. He said they always wear life jackets, but they also carry along other things they consider necessities. “Because these things can pop, you always bring an extra tube,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s an expensive one.”
He also advised packing a paddle “so it keeps you out of the danger. You can push off the rocks with it. You can move yourself further out of the way, all good.”
Cutrer emphasized that when it comes to safe river recreation, “preparedness is always the key.”
He said those out on the river should make sure to have personal floatation devices on hand and “are able to help yourself if you get in a situation where you’re losing air in an inner tube.”
Also, don’t stay out after dark. “Plan ahead and make sure you’ve got plenty of time to get off the river,” Cutrer said.
Davis said he makes sure he plans his trip so that he’s not on the river at nightfall. “It’s just not safe. If you can’t see the water, if you can’t see what’s coming up, just don’t go,” he said.
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