Columbia Student Killed In Potomac River Kayak Accident: Officials

NEW YORK CITY, NY — A kayaking trip turned fatal for a Columbia University student Sunday when she was trapped under a rock on the Potomac River, officials said.

Ella Mills, a Columbia University junior, had been kayaking with about two dozen people at C & O Canal National Historic Park when she became pinned under water about 3:15 p.m., according to the school and the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

Multiple people tried to save Mills' life before first responders arrived, but without success, spokesperson Pete Piringer said.

Mills had been on a trip with the Columbia University Whitewater Kayaking Club, according to university President Minouche Shafik.

"Words cannot express how heartbroken I feel for her family, her friends, her loved ones, and those students from the University who were with her on this trip," Shafik wrote.

Mills, originally from Dublin, Ireland, arrived in the U.S. earlier this month to begin studies at the Ivy League, said Lisa Rosen-Metsch, dean of the School of General Studies.

"Ella had a love for learning, was intellectually curious, and passionate about literature," Rosen-Metsch said, "eager to soak in new ways of looking at literature and viewing the world as a literary scholar."