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28 people rescued from rafts along North Saskatchewan River

Twenty-eight people were rescued from rafts along the North Saskatchewan River near the Rustic River Lodge on Saturday, July 7, 2018. Global News

More than two dozen people out on a family adventure on Saturday afternoon had to be rescued from the North Saskatchewan River after their rafts became stuck in trees.

Rocky Mountain House RCMP said 28 people – a family from Calgary – were rafting along the river when their rafts became stuck.

The group of children and adults launched their rafts near Rocky Mountain House and were out on the water for a couple of hours before they got stuck near the Rustic River Lodge, officers said.

Rocky Mountain House RCMP said they were called to the river at around 4:15 p.m. by the Rocky Mountain House Search and Rescue. The group was not able to free itself from the trees and get off the water, RCMP said in a media release Sunday morning.

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No one was injured in the ordeal, and no one fell in the water in the process, RCMP said. Rescue boats were used to take the group to safety.

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The group was out on the water on its own, without a formal guide.

RCMP said the water level on the North Saskatchewan River is currently quite high in the Rocky Mountain House area, due to recent rain and runoff. Logs on the water and rocks under the surface could be hazardous, police said. Officers are advising people to stay off the river while the water level remains high.

This is the second time in as many days emergency crews from Rocky Mountain House were forced to perform a water rescue. On Friday afternoon, three people were rescued by a helicopter after they became lost on a kayaking trip in the Ram River area.

One of the kayakers suffered a minor injury, RCMP said, but the group was otherwise unharmed.

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