Man Dies After Raft Flips On Arkansas River

click to expand

SALIDA, Colo. (AP) — Authorities say a man died after the raft he was in flipped on the Arkansas River in southern Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say five people were thrown from the privately owned raft in a whitewater section of the river below Salida on Friday afternoon.

Kayakers floating near the raft rescued four of the people, but the fifth was carried downstream.

The man, whose name has not been released, was seen floating face-down and was pulled from the water. Rangers with the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area performed CPR, but the man died at the scene.

Earlier Friday, a 26-year-old man who was involved in a tubing accident on the Poudre (POO'-dur) River in northern Colorado the previous day died. He was identified as Matthew Spates, of Fort Collins.

Colorado's rivers are swollen this time of year as the heavy mountain snowpack melts.