The kayaker was taken to hospital in serious but stable condition after a major rescue on Sunday morning on the Ottawa River.
In a press release, the Ottawa Fire Department said the call was received at 10:36 a.m. for a distressed kayak floating near Alexandra Bridge.
“We don’t know what happened, but all we know is that they clung to the side of their kayak and kicked to try to win a position,” said OFS spokesman Nicholas DeFazio.
DeFazio said much of the credit went to the Ottawa Rowing Club, which launched a boat and helped the man out of the water.
“The river is pretty high right now and pretty fast,” said Zach Lewis, the club’s head coach and CEO. “It was really nice to have our eyes on the water.”
“Pretty bloody there”
Lewis called the rescue a “shot in the dark,” noting that if the kayaker moved another 100 meters out of sight in both directions, he would probably not be saved.
At various times of the day, the club may not have had the equipment or resources to enter the river as quickly as it had, he said.
“It’s pretty ugly there,” Lewis said. Four or five more minutes could be a very, very different conversation.
Fire crews also launched a boat and helped escort the kayaker to shore, where he was evaluated and transferred to paramedics.
The kayaker returned to shore at 11 am, the fire department said.
“There really needs to be a big shout out for the people at the Ottawa Rowing Club who saw someone in trouble and had the tools to come out and help them,” DeFazio said.
The Ottawa River can be known for its strong currents, he added.
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