Utah man dies under raft amid rapid in Colorado's Lodore Canyon

A 50-year-old man from Sandy, Utah, died after being pinned under a raft on the Green River at Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado, according to park rangers who recovered the body Friday.

At 4 p.m. Thursday, the rangers got word that a raft was stuck against a rock in the Hell's Half Mile rapid in the monument's Lodore Canyon.

Under the watercraft, the victim had lost his lifejacket and fallen unconscious. When the raft was removed and secured, the victim floated down the river, DNM officials said in a release.

On Friday, guides from a private rafting company, Adrift, found the victim’s body 10 miles down the Green River from the rapid. The body was airlifted and taken to the Moffat County coroner. The identity of the dead man is being withheld pending notification of his loved ones.

Hell's Half Mile is a Class III/IV rapid, DNM said.

Class III rapids have “moderate, irregular waves, which may be difficult to avoid and which can swamp an open canoe” while Class IV rapids are intense and can feature “large, unavoidable waves and holes or constricted passages demanding fast maneuvers under pressure,” according to the safety code from American Whitewater, a rafting and river conservation organization.