Teen canoeist, 2 others rescued after plunging over waterfall
FALL LAKE TOWNSHIP, Minn. --Three people have been airlifted to a hospital after their canoe plummeted over a waterfall near the U.S.-Canada border in northern Minnesota.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office says one teen boy had to be rescued from under a log where he became wedged for hours after the dramatic plunge over the Upper Basswood Falls in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness around 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Sheriff Casey Johnson says the waterfalls are 25 to 30 feet tall.
CBS affiliate WCCO reports that rescuers freed him at about 5:15 p.m., and about two hours later a helicopter flew him to a seaplane, which then took him to an ambulance. He was eventually taken to a hospital.
Video shot by Roy Misonznick showed the victim being transported from the seaplane to the hospital.
The sheriff's office says the teenager likely has hypothermia and an ankle fracture. The boy's name was not released.
A Minnesota State Patrol helicopter flew all three canoeists to a hospital in Ely, about 100 miles north of Duluth.