Hovercraft brings 3 rafters to safety on Sauk River

DARRINGTON – A hovercraft was used to rescue three people off the banks of the Sauk River this afternoon after their raft overturned.

The three people, a man, woman and teenage boy, were able to get out of the river on their own and wait for rescue crews, officials said.

The man was taken to the Darrington Clinic with complaints of a rib injury, Darrington Fire Lt. Richard Jankowski said. The other two appeared to be uninjured.

The trio was on a rafting trip when they hit a downed tree and flipped. The raft was found downriver of where the trio was rescued, Jankowski said.

The people were waiting on the east bank along N. Sauk River Road but rescue crews weren’t able to drive there because the road is washed out, he said.

Crews from Arlington Heights Fire used a hovercraft to bring the people across the river one at a time to safety.

“They were successful in getting these people out,” Jankowski said.