http://www.oregonlive.com/multnomahcounty/2017/04/4_people_injured_when_fishing.html


1 person dies, 3 others treated for hypothermia after boat capsizes on Columbia River

Jim Ryan | The Oregonian/OregonLive By Jim Ryan | The Oregonian/OregonLive

on April 07, 2017 at 3:22 PM, updated April 07, 2017 at 11:37 PM

One person died and three others were being treated for hypothermia after their research boat capsized amid rough conditions Friday on the Columbia River, officials said.

The boaters are Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission technicians, a commission spokeswoman said. She confirmed the death of one of the boaters, a man, early Friday evening.

"This accident serves as a constant reminder of the dangers associated with the Columbia River, even for the most experienced," spokeswoman Sara Thompson said in a statement. "All four are highly trained and log hundreds of hours on the Columbia River each year."

Emergency crews responded to the river around 10 a.m. after an Interstate 84 traveler who saw the boat overturn near Multnomah Falls called authorities, Lt. Chad Gaidos, a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said in a news release.

He said responders arrived and saw the boaters hanging onto the bottom of the overturned boat, which was floating down the river. Rough river conditions "appear to have been a contributing factor" to the boat capsizing, he said.

Gresham fire responders initially didn't think it would be a problem to launch their 20-foot rescue boat. But they realized conditions were worse as they traveled east, said Jason McGowan, battalion chief for Gresham Fire.

They second-guessed launching the boat because of the rough conditions and their relatively small vessel, McGowan said. Plus, he said, the Port of Portland had a bigger boat on the way and the technicians were sitting atop the research boat and appeared to be doing relatively OK.

As they were discussing their plan, they got word the technicians' vessel had gone under and that the group was in the water. That changed the situation.

"We will risk little for something that's already lost," McGowan said. "However, we will risk a lot to save a lot."

They launched the boat around 10:35 a.m. and reached the technicians 15 minutes later. McGowan said three of them were extremely hypothermic -- responders measured the water temperature at between 40 and 45 degrees -- and that another was unconscious.

The crew started performing CPR on the unconscious man, whose heart wasn't beating and who wasn't breathing on his own, McGowan said.

"We don't lose anything by trying," he said.

When a patient is that cold -- in this case, chilled by the water and wind -- McGowan said responders will continue to perform lifesaving measures until the patient is at a hospital and warm enough where medical authorities can see if their body responds to treatment.

The man was pronounced dead at Portland's Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, where he was flown by helicopter, McGowan said.

The other three -- two men and a woman -- were taken to Gresham's Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center, Gresham city spokeswomen said in a news release. Each of the technicians was wearing a lifejacket, the spokeswomen said.

-- Jim Ryan