What was supposed to be an ordinary canoe trip on Sunday turned into a harrowing helicopter rescue for a group of kayakers on the Potomac River in Maryland.
Accordingly WUSA10 kayakers had to be rescued after rough waters on the Potomac River left them stranded while their boat floated down the river. While rescue units in Loudoun and Fairfax counties were mobilized, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue received calls around 2:30 p.m. local time on Oct. 6.
After the river washed away the canoes, three people were stranded on a rock near the George Washington Canal, while several others were shipwrecked, so to speak, on Seneca Beach Island. A handful of other kayakers couldn't even make it ashore and were struggling in the water near Blockhouse Point.
Helicopters, along with U.S. Park Police and Maryland state troopers, were deployed to rescue the kayakers from their predicament. Boats rescued those in the water and those on the nearby rocks and transported them to the nearest land. Four people stranded on Seneca Beach Island were airlifted by helicopter in baskets and dropped ashore.
First responders checked the 10 kayakers for injuries once they were safely ashore. It was stated that there were no injuries in the incident and no one was taken to hospital.
The good thing is that kayakers are stranded throughout the region, even in small groups.