Two people were rescued from the frigid Kennebecasis River after their kayaks overturned between Renforth Wharf in Rothesay and Long Island.
Shawn White, division chief with the Kennebecasis Valley Fire Department, said the call came in just before 6 p.m. Sunday.
“Both people were in the water for approximately 15 minutes before we arrived. There was another boat in the area at the same time so they did pick them up and put them in their boat,” said White in an interview Monday morning.
Both of them were transported back to shore and taken to hospital by paramedics, White said. He believes one of the individuals was experiencing hypothermia.
If you are considering venturing out onto the river, White said it is important to be prepared, especially since the water is still quite cold.
“We encourage people to make sure that they wear proper protection when they’re out on the water and just be aware of the fact that the river changes quite rapidly. It could be calm one and the next minute it could be quite rough, especially in the afternoon.”
“Sometimes people go out not quite prepared, especially this time of year. I don’t know if that’s exactly what happened here, but I would suspect.”
Fire crews were on scene for about an hour.
