Yuma firefighters save man stranded in river
Yuma firefighters rescued a 75-year-old man who was stranded in the Colorado River Tuesday afternoon after helping his two grandchildren get back to shore.
According to information provided by Yuma Fire Department spokesman Mike Erfert, just after 2 p.m. a person was reported to be struggling to stay afloat in the Colorado River under the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they found the man holding onto veg- etation on the north side of the river trying to stay above water.
A firefighter quickly put on water rescue gear, entered the water and within minutes was able to bring the man safely to the south shore at Gateway Park.
The incident could have been much worse, according to Erfert.
He said that a family had been bicycling on the multi-use path along the river when two boys, age 11 and 8, went into the water to cool off. Both boys waded into a drop-off area and lost their footing. A bystander saw this and went to assist along with the boy’s grandfather.
They were able to get the boys back from the drop-off, Erfert said, but the grandfather was then caught in the drop-off and the current. He was able to hold on to brush along the river until YFD personnel arrived.
Both the boys and the grandfather were checked out by YFD medics, but did not require further treatment or transport.