Good Samaritan helps paddlers in distress on the Ottawa River
A Good Samaritan jumped into action on Saturday to help four people who were on paddleboards and heading towards the rapids on the Ottawa River in Ottawa’s west end.
"My boyfriend picked me up on the boat after work and right when we were getting out of the harbour we heard screams of help," said Mikaela Richter, who was near Britannia Beach when the incident happened. "We saw four people on a paddle board heading towards the rapids."
Richter said the four people were headed straight for the Deschenes Rapids when she heard the cries for help.
"We motored as fast as we could towards the rapids to try and grab them before they went over, but unfortunately they were too close to the rapids so I immediately grabbed my phone and called 911," said Richter.
That phone call directed fire officials right to the incident. Officials say the four people fell off the paddleboard in the Ottawa River.
"Luckily all four people were wearing lifejackets so that definitely aided in the rescue of them," said Richter.
When firefighters arrived to the scene, the four people had already gone through the rapids. Richter says she kept her eye on them the entire time, until officials arrived.
The fire crews were able to bring all four people to shore safely and there were no reported injuries.
Barbara Byers of the Lifesaving Society said that wearing lifejackets was a key factor in staying safe.
"Lifejackets are the most important thing you can do to prevent a drowning," said Byers. "We know that by looking at the drowning statistics, 80 per cent of people who drown did not have a life jacket on."
The incident a scary reminder to take boating and water safety very seriously.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.