A canoeist on the Grand River had to be rescued in a joint operation between Kitchener and Cambridge fire.
Around 5:30 p.m. a report came in that two canoes were on the river, say officials. Two canoes with four people had been travelling along the Grand when one of the boats flipped; one person was able to perform a self-recue while the other required a rescue from fire crews.
The other canoe was able to make it safely down river and got off at the Freeport bridge.
Boats from Cambridge fire were called in to assist with the rescue. Officials from the Cambridge fire department say one of the two boats wasn’t able to keep up with the fast moving current.
An air boat was eventually able to make its way up the river to the Fairway Road bridge where they found the other canoeist along the bank and performed a rescue.
All four victims have been accounted for and no injuries were reported, everyone was wearing life jackets at the time.
“The river is flowing extremely fast, there's a lot of debris coming down the river, it's not a place to be with canoes or any type of boat of any kind right now.” Says Kitchener Fire Platoon Chief, Kevin Carley.
