A group paddles a raft down the Kennebec River in this Aug. 23, 2006 file photo in Forks, Maine. On Oct. 1, 2022, a man died while rafting on the Dead River in Maine, officials said. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Seven passengers aboard a river raft in Maine were thrown overboard after encountering a series of rapids, leaving one dead, officials said.
Brian Breen, 57, of suburban Hartford, Connecticut, was rafting with family and friends on Saturday, Oct. 1, when the incident occurred, said Mark Latty, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. told McClatchy News in an email.
The raft, operated by the Magic Falls Rafting Company, was traveling down the Dead River when it hit the rapids, causing Breen and another passenger to “eject” into the water, Latty said.
The guide tried to rescue the passengers overboard, but another rush of speed caused the raft to capsize, throwing everyone else into the fast-moving water, Latty said.
Other rafts nearby were able to save everyone, but Breen was unresponsive. One member of the group performed CPR on Bryna while on the raft, but they were unable to revive him, Latty said.
Bryn was brought to a funeral home in Maine, Latty said. Medical examiners have not yet released a cause of death.
Magic Falls Rafting Company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News. Its website states, “The Dead River’s spring runoff and heavy water releases contribute to the ultimate wild water adventure in New England.”
Untamed Mainer, an online guide, says the river is “very densely vegetated, which makes it even bigger it is difficult to save swimmers and tackle, and the average width of the river is 120 feet.’
52-year-old boy scout died on the river after falling from a raft in 2016, according to the Associated Press.
