PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A father and his 2 daughters were rescued from the Lewis River after their boat hit some underwater trees and capsized on Saturday afternoon.
The rescue, which took nearly 2 hours from beginning to end, began around 1:10 p.m. when crews from Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue were sent to a spot in Ridgefield, officials said.
One crew made it through heavy brush to get to the riverfront and found the man with his 8-year-old daughter. But he told rescuers his 12-year-old daughter was floating downstream and drifting toward the bank.
A technical rescue and a raft crew were dispatched to look for the girl along with rescue swimmers from multiple departments. Some of the rescue swimmers found the girl about 100 yards away from the initial incident, officials said.
“This one was difficult,” said Max Konkright of Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue. “It’s steep terrain, very fast water flow, high water flow, location is very difficult. It made for a lot of challenges for all of our personnel.”
All 3 were taken to the hospital by ambulance and all were said to be in stable condition considering their exposure to the cold water.
The father was not wearing a life jacket but both girls were.
“Given the air and water temperatures, along with the increased flow rates of the river, the proper wearing of life jackets most likely saved two lives today,” authorities said in a statement.
Five departments responded and worked together on this rescue.
KOIN 6 News reporter Jami Seymore contributed to this report.