Kayaker Dead After Boating Mishap Near Great Falls

MONTGOMERY CO., MD — A man died late Sunday after being rescued from the Potomac River near the Great Falls area, authorities said.

The man was one of three kayakers who had become separated from their boats and swept up in the water.

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Two of the men were able to self-rescue by swimming to the Virginia shoreline of the river, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer.

Piringer said the third man was unconscious and suffering from life-threatening injuries when he was pulled ashore.

Emergency personnel from both Montgomery and Virginia's Fairfax counties were dispatched to the scene at about 2 p.m. Rescue operations were established at the boat ramp near the Old Angler's Inn in Potomac.

Although the man was resuscitated at the scene and later transferred by boat for medical care, Piringer said just before 10 p.m. that he was pronounced dead at the Inova Fairfax Hospital.

“We believe they were boating in and around the Great Falls and somehow got caught up in some hydraulics up in that area,” Piringer said. “Water’s very low, so it’s treacherous in some areas.”

Officials have not released information about the condition of the other two kayakers or detailed how they may have known one another. The identity of the deceased kayaker has not been released.

A death investigation is ongoing.