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Llangollen Scouts in river rescue drama
Posted 11 September 2009
A group of 16 year old Llangollen Scouts have been involved in a river rescue drama on the River Wye during their Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition.
The five Explorer Scouts, Gavin Scott, George Jones, James Cragg, Suzie Gregory and Sam Dodd, were paddling from Glasbury in Powys to Hoarwithy in Herefordshire as part of a three day expedition. The aim of their expedition was to visit campsites along the route to evaluate them for future Scout activities.
On reaching Whitney-on-Wye the Scouts saw a group in locally hired boats who were in obvious distress. One of their canoes was stuck against the pillar of a bridge due to a strong current. The boat had tipped over throwing one paddler into the river and leaving the other, a young pregnant woman, standing terrified in the sinking canoe.
Three of the quick thinking Explorer Scouts went to the aid of the party, one going after the person in the water and the others rescuing the woman from the boat. River levels were reasonably high, about 2 feet higher than normal and flowing fast following recent rain.
Gavin Scott said, "Once I'd assessed the person in the water was OK, I paddled upstream against the strong current towards the lady in the sinking canoe which was pinned against the bridge. Me and James shouted to her to reassure her and told her to jump in the water where we'd catch her, but she was scared and didn't want to, stating that she was pregnant. Eventually, with George's help we managed to get a boat alongside her and she managed to get in so we could take her to the side where she was looked after by Sam and Suzie while we recovered their battered boat."
All five of the Scouts are experienced paddlers and spend hours learning how to rescue people, but this was the toughest challenge they'd had to face.
Leader Joanne Gregory said, "I am really proud of the way the Explorers worked together as a team to manage the situation. They quickly assessed that the other members of the other party didn't have the ability or equipment to manage the situation, and directed them to safety while they managed the rescue, ensured their own safety by assessing the river conditions, and acted quickly for fear that the stranded canoe would buckle under pressure causing injury to the woman."
Despite the drama, the group completed the expedition covering 51 miles in the 3 days, and are on course to gain their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Awards and the Chief Scout's Diamond Award.
