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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Kayaker Rescued with Use of Cell Phone


Click the picture to see video

based on several news articles


A 61-year-old Saginaw man set off for a day of kayaking on the Red Cedar River near Lansing's MSU campus. After only a short paddle his kayak overturned. The man drifted a considerable distance and then became entangled in some branches.

However, he had packed his cell phone in a plastic bag and was able to call 911. Although he did not know the river well, he was eventually able to give rescuers enough information that they located him. Lansing firefighters, using ropes and motorized rescue boats, pulled the man from the water.

Boating accidents and deaths have both increased in Michigan in recent years.

The man declined to be identified to news media due to embarrassment over the incident. He had planned to kayak from the Michigan State Campus to Grand Rapids. Thanks to his preparation and protection of his phone, he may have the chance to try his adventure another day.

See the Lansing State Journal, "Kayaking incident on Red Cedar River offers lesson in water safety," by Kevin Grasha and Brittany Smith, June 23, 2009
See the WILX News, "River Rescue Successful"
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch


2 comments:

Rick (Ratty) said...

This is a good lesson for everyone, especially beginners that want to see nature. A cellphone is a valuable tool. I don't talk on the phone much, but I take a cellphone even to very small nature parks.

Sharkbytes (TM) said...

Yes, it can be a good thing. The problem lies in the number of people who don't know how to identify an actual emergency.

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