Boater found clinging to channel marker after two capsize in Oregon, rescuers say

The Coast Guard rescued two people in Oregon after their boat capsized, officials said.

At 2:25 p.m. on June 11, the Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received reports of a boat that capsized in Astoria, throwing two people into the water, according to a news release by the department.

Rescuers arrived at the scene at 3 p.m. and found one “stranded person atop a day board channel marker,” officials said in the June 12 release. A rescue swimmer was sent to grab the person before a chopper hoisted them out of the water.

20 minutes later, while continuing the search, officials found another person, this one “floating face-up but showing no signs of mobility,” according to the release.

The Coast Guard boat crew couldn’t get to the person in the shallow water, so the rescue swimmer was lowered by the helicopter and found the person “unresponsive and not breathing,” officials said.

While the stranded person was transferred to a Coast Guard boat, the rescue swimmer stayed with the unresponsive person and began CPR while waiting for medical attention, officials said. The person remained “unresponsive when transferred from Coast Guard care.”

The stranded person was in stable condition and transferred to medical personnel at Air Station Astoria, according to the release.

Astoria is about 100 miles northwest of Portland.

This story was originally published June 12, 2023 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Boater found clinging to channel marker after two capsize in Oregon, rescuers say."