BUENA VISTA, Colo. (KOAA) — On Saturday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) released information about a kayaker who died along the Arkansas River on Friday afternoon.
According to CPW, Chaffee County dispatch received calls around 3:15 p.m. of a CPR in progress for two boaters whose kayaks had capsized on the river.
Rangers from the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA), Chaffee County EMS, Chaffee County Fire, and the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call.
CPW says that one of the kayakers was able to swim to shore, but the other was unconscious after capsizing. They say a bystander followed them in their own kayak and pulled the kayaker to shore above Johnsons Village, south of Buena Vista.
They began CPR and called 911.
Officials attempted resuscitation efforts on the kayaker, but he was pronounced dead on the scene by the Chaffee County Coroner.
CPW says that both kayakers were wearing appropriate safety gear for the whitewater and calls the situation "a tragic accident.”
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