2 months ago
12
FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Fresno County Sheriff deputies rescued a kayaker who fell into the Kings River Friday day adjacent the Pine Flat Dam.
Deputies accidental the kayaker, who is simply a antheral successful his mid-60s, got caught successful a weir, which pulled him nether the water.
They accidental adjacent bystanders, similar Tomas Schuk, jumped into enactment to effort to propulsion him out.
"I'm looking astatine this feline and helium reminds maine of my dad. I'm like, I got to get him this rope," Schuk, from Reedley said.
Schuk says helium was sportfishing with his household erstwhile abruptly everything changed.
"I saw the gentleman's kayak upside down. And past I saw him and helium was underneath the bridge," helium said.
He says helium and the radical adjacent recovered a enactment and tried tossing it retired to the man.
"He was warring the existent for truthful agelong and yet grabs it and we're benignant of cheering existent accelerated and we're like, 'All right, we're going to propulsion you to the broadside of the bank,'" helium said.
However, it wasn't working.
Schuk says the antheral was anemic from being successful the frigid water. While helium was capable to drawback onto the enactment for a moment, Schuk says helium saw the antheral commencement to slip.
He says the enactment weirs from the span were successful the way, and made it intolerable for Schuk to propulsion him up.
The antheral couldn't clasp on, and the stream started carrying him away.
Fresno County Sheriff Sergeant Chris Tullus says 2 sheriff's sergeants who were dive grooming astatine adjacent Avocado Lake made it to the river.
"Had they not been here, helium astir apt would person gone further down the river," Tullus said.
They were capable to bring him retired of the water, but the antheral was unconscious.
They did CPR until EMS arrived and past helium was taken to the hospital.
Tullus says the antheral had a beingness overgarment on, but it wasn't zipped up.
"This is the astir treacherous portion of the h2o that we have," helium said.
He says the acold water, the accelerated current, and the dam each marque this country truthful dangerous.
Tullus says helium wants radical to cognize they request to deterioration their beingness jackets correctly, but adjacent much so, radical request to cognize erstwhile to enactment connected adust land.
"A lifejacket is designed to support your caput supra water. But with the action, the mode the h2o works, it pulls you under. It spits you up, it pulls you under, spits you up. All it's going to do, is bash its champion to support your caput retired of the h2o and springiness you a warring chance," Tullus said.
Tullus added Schuk and the different men who tried to rescue the antheral did the close happening by calling 911 and staying retired of the water. He says if they were to person gone successful to effort to get him out, it would person apt resulted successful deputies needing to rescue much people.
