Boaters rescued from Catawba River

ROCK HILL — The Rock Hill Rescue Squad was dispatched Saturday night after three boaters in a canoe got stuck on rocks in the Catawba River due to high water. Two of the squad's advanced swift water rescue certified members navigated the boat up river and successfully got the patients and their three kids, who were in a different boat, into the rescue boat and back to shore safely.

There were no injuries.

Other responding agencies were the Piedmont Medical Center, Fort Mill Rescue, York County Sheriff's Dive Team, York County Emergency Response Team and York County Emergency Management.

The call for help came in around 6 p.m. and they were able to make contact with the boaters within 10 minutes.

A representative with Fort Mill Rescue said the water can get high quickly, especially when the utility company releases water from the dam at Lake Norman. The water gets low soon after, which caused the boat to get stuck on the rocks.

The Rock Hill Rescue Squad said there were speculations that someone jumped off the Interstate 77 bridge, but that was not the case.

WSOC