Ocoee White Water Rafting
Group meets to talk rafting safety after teen dies
POLK COUNTY, TN (WRCB) -- Several groups talked safety measures and the conclusion was there is no true safety on the rapids. It's more of a matter of being prepared for the unexpected.
For a second time tragedy strikes the Ocoee, this time a 14-year-old male is the victim .
State Park Rangers say a rafting group from the Atlanta area was rafting with Big Frog Expeditions when the raft hit a rock tipping everyone into the rapids.
The 14-year-old leg was caught under rocks when the waters pulled him under.
"We try to point out where those rocks, where those issues can be and where to swim if you do fall out and things like that. Unfortunately he was in the current and ended up there," says Jennifer Perdew of Big Frog Expeditions.
Monday afternoon, a safety meeting was held with 9 separate rafting groups on board.
Veteran instructor Barry Burch, says tragedy can happen at any point on the river.
"Mother nature is no respecter of persons. We have to respect it on the good days and the bad days and any day there is there is an opportunity for something really serious to go down," says Burch.
The 14-year-old had a pulse at the Ocoee, but would later die en route to the hospital.
According to the American White Water Affiliation, only 4% of white water deaths in the country are caused by leg entrapment.
"Never let your guard down, things happen at any time and any point on this river and that is what we are prepared to do," says Burch.
This marks the 10 death on the Ocoee since 1990 and the last time there were two in the same year, was 1998.
Big Frog has issued the following statement regarding the incident.
"One June 19 , a guest of ours died on the Ocoee River while on a whitewater rafting trip with his summer camp. Several people fell out of the raft and were pulled from the water into other boats or to the shore. One young man's leg became entrapped between two rocks and was held under water. Guides from Big Frog Expeditions were able to reach him within minutes but it took longer to dislodge his leg. The accident occurred at approximately 1:00pm. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
Ocoee White Water Rafting - News
Rafting became popular on the Ocoee in the late 1970s, and its manmade Olympics course — developed on the Upper Ocoee for the 1996 Summer Olympics whitewater competition — soon created even more of a magnet for rafters and kayakers.
Sunday afternoon, first responders rushed to the scene near the Ocoee Whitewater Center after reports of CPR in progress. According to Dan Hicks, spokesman for Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the young man was on a youth camping adventure.
(JTA) -- A camper at Camp Ramah Darom in Georgia was killed in an accident on a white-water rafting trip. Eleventh-grader Andrew Silvershein, of Davie, Fla., died when his raft capsized Sunday on the first day of a trip on the Ocoee River in Tennessee.
"When they find themselves in the water, the first thing they need to do is the white water swim position. It's on your back, your feet downstream, your toes and your nose on the surface of the water. And that keeps your feet way up high and helps to
"One June 19 th , a guest of ours died on the Ocoee River while on a whitewater rafting trip with his summer camp. Several people fell out of the raft and were pulled from the water into other boats or to the shore. One young man's leg became entrapped
White Water rafting in Ocoee, Tennessee
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3 guys and 3 girls, we rafted and then camped out on the grounds later that evening. We took it back to roasting marshmallows, and then crashing in a 6 person tent. We fell asleep, not to bear sounds, but the sounds of the neighbors in the next tent getting TO IT!
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Adventure company offering guided whitewater rafting trips on the Ocoee River.
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Sunburst Rafting is a Tennessee White Water Rafting Company offering Ocoee River Rafting trips, canoeing, kayaking, Ocoee Whitewater.
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Whitewater rafting trips on the Ocoee River plus cabin and boat rentals on scenic Lake Ocoee in East Tennessee.
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