USA Raft Adventure Resort talks water safety after nearby rescue

ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL) — News Channel 11 spoke with USA Raft Adventure Resort on Thursday about water safety after a person was successfully rescued from the Nolichuckey River nearby.

Rescue crews were out on the water Thursday for about an hour searching for a missing person, Unicoi County Sheriff Mike Hensley said. The person, who was not a USA Raft customer, was later found uninjured.

USA Raft told News Channel 11 that there are necessary precautions to take when enjoying the water to ensure safety and a good time.

One of the most important things to remember when out on the water is to remain seated on whatever watercraft device is used.

“Probably the most, not the most common, but the easiest thing to happen is if you stand up in moving water and it pushes you over because again, you get a foot trapped between a rock on the bottom and it pushes you over and then you’re face down to the water’s moving and you’re not,” USA Raft’s Dale Strother said.

The adventure resort said there cannot be fun without safety. USA Raft outfits its customers with helmets and checks the integrity of any watercraft, and the business encourages anyone who may have plans to go on the river to do the same.

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