Water rescue crews helped save two men on the Ottawa River after their fishing boat sank and high-speed rapids threatened to sweep them away Thursday.
Ottawa Fire Services (OFS) said it received a 911 call from a person on shore who reported a fishing boat heading through the Deschenes Rapids.
When the person lost sight of the boat, OFS said a kayaker went to investigate and found the boat had stalled and entered the Aylmer Hydro Ruins, a “highly hazardous area with fast-moving water.”
The two operators on the boat, both men in their 30s, later jumped from the sinking boat but were swept through a hole in the concrete wall of the ruins, according to OFS.
Ottawa fire’s water rescue team was able to assist the men downriver, with assistance from counterparts in Gatineau.
OFS said the two men were brought to shore, where they received care from Ottawa paramedics.
Elsewhere on the Ottawa River Thursday, OFS said two personal watercraft collided behind the library at Parliament.
The OFS water rescue team took one rider on-board and assessed him for minor injuries.
One personal watercraft was disabled but ultimately recovered by the rental company.
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