JENSEN, Utah, July 7, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A 47-year-old California man died in a rafting accident in Triplet Falls on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument Saturday.
The rafter was part of a group that included family and friends on a commercial rafting trip, said a news release from the National Park Service.
“Dinosaur National Monument received notification via satellite text message at 12:40 p.m.on Saturday, that a boat flipped in the Green River at Triplet Falls, resulting in an injured male who was reported to be unconscious,” the news release said. “The rafter was underwater for about 10 minutes. CPR was performed for approximately 90 minutes.”
Classic Air Medical arrived on the scene to assess the rafter, found him unresponsive, and declared him deceased, the news release said. They then transported the victim by helicopter to the Ashley Regional Medical Center in Vernal.
National Park Service staff from Dinosaur National Monument, along with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office, were in the process of launching a rescue effort by raft from the Gates of Lodore when Classic Air Medical arrived at Triplet Falls and found the rafter deceased, officials said.
The rescue team will continue to travel by raft to the scene of the incident, will conduct a National Park Service-led investigation, and will assist those from the boating party remaining on the river in reaching a location where they can take out.
Triplet Falls, which has a Class III difficulty rating, is located along the Green River in a remote portion of Dinosaur National Monument about 12 river miles from the monument’s northern boundary near Gates of Lodore. The area is surrounded by steep canyon walls rising 1,200 feet and higher above the river, the news release said.
There is no cell service in that portion of the monument. River flow was approximately 2,350 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the time of the incident.
The deceased man’s name was not released pending notification of family.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information is made available.
