Bystanders and first responders rescue three in overturned boat at the Palisades Dam
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SWAN VALLEY — An overturned boat below the Palisades Dam triggered a large response by first responders to rescue three people.
According to a news release from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, around 10:30 a.m., deputies received a report of an overturned boat with three people on board.
Deputies with BCSO, Swan Valley Fire and Idaho Falls Ambulance responded to the scene, where bystanders pulled a man from the water.
Bystanders provided first aid and CPR to the man. The other individual, a woman, managed to get out of the water before the Sheriff’s Office Dive and Rescue Team arrived.
The release states deputies learned that the third person, a man, was trapped underneath the boat.
Bystanders reached the boat and tried to free the man, but were unsuccessful.
Once the dive and rescue team reached the overturned boat, they located the trapped man, who had been tangled in a rope attached to the boat, and freed him. However, he had been underwater for several minutes.
Two helicopters from Air Methods and Intermountain Rescue were dispatched to the scene and took both men to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
The woman was treated at the scene and was uninjured.
Deputies said the group was out on a jet boat when it overturned, and life jackets were on board, but none of the individuals were wearing them.
The status of the two men remains unknown, and no further updates are available.
“Bystanders and boaters in the area played a big part in calling for emergency resources and rendering aid until rescue personnel and equipment arrived on scene,” the release states.