fisher16
06-29-2006, 11:24 PM
Palmer boy trapped underwater in rain-swollen Swift River
By LORI STABILE
and STAN FREEMAN
Staff writers
A 15-year-old Palmer boy who was attempting to walk across the Bondsville Dam in Palmer yesterday as the raging Swift River sent tons of water over it, lost his footing, fell into the falls and was trapped underwater for nearly 30 minutes.
Pulled out by Palmer firefighters, the boy was rushed to Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer where he was treated then transferred to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where he was in the emergency room last night.
A second teen, also from Palmer, who jumped from the dam moments before his friend fell, had to be rescued from atop a rock in the river by a firefighters who was able to reach him tethered to a rope.
The incidents, which took place just after 5:30 p.m., came after a violent thunderstorm further swelled the river, which was already running high from Wednesday’s showers.
“I can’t stress enough how dangerous it is,” Police Chief Robert P. Frydryk said about the dam. “People underestimate the power of the river.” Police estimated the teen was under the water for nearly 30 minutes.
Bondsville Fire Chief Steven R. Sadusky, who rescued the youth trapped under the falls, said the river current was too much for anyone.
“I don’t care how big you are. It’s going to take you down,” he said. “It’s like a riptide effect.”
The two teens were part of group of six boys who attempted to cross the dam, which links the Bondsville section of Palmer to Belchertown.
As has been the case all too often in recent weeks, an intense, very localized thunderstorm ripped through the Connecticut River Valley yesterday. The storm, which began just after noon, dropped more than an inch of rain in a little less than an hour in some locations, raising the waters in streams and smaller rivers. But while yesterday’s downpour drenched Hampden County, it missed Hampshire and Franklin counties for the most part.
The storm featured numerous lightning strikes, and firefighters in West Springfield and Agawam responded to a spate of building alarms triggered by the strikes.
The National Weather Service is predicting drier weather today and tomorrow, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the lower 80s both days. Sunday, should be hot, with temperatures in the upper 80s, but the chance of thunderstorms will return. For both Monday and Tuesday, which is Independence Day, the forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and temperatures from 75 to 85.
Hope he recovers but being underwater for thirty minutes is a long time. Sad story
By LORI STABILE
and STAN FREEMAN
Staff writers
A 15-year-old Palmer boy who was attempting to walk across the Bondsville Dam in Palmer yesterday as the raging Swift River sent tons of water over it, lost his footing, fell into the falls and was trapped underwater for nearly 30 minutes.
Pulled out by Palmer firefighters, the boy was rushed to Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer where he was treated then transferred to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where he was in the emergency room last night.
A second teen, also from Palmer, who jumped from the dam moments before his friend fell, had to be rescued from atop a rock in the river by a firefighters who was able to reach him tethered to a rope.
The incidents, which took place just after 5:30 p.m., came after a violent thunderstorm further swelled the river, which was already running high from Wednesday’s showers.
“I can’t stress enough how dangerous it is,” Police Chief Robert P. Frydryk said about the dam. “People underestimate the power of the river.” Police estimated the teen was under the water for nearly 30 minutes.
Bondsville Fire Chief Steven R. Sadusky, who rescued the youth trapped under the falls, said the river current was too much for anyone.
“I don’t care how big you are. It’s going to take you down,” he said. “It’s like a riptide effect.”
The two teens were part of group of six boys who attempted to cross the dam, which links the Bondsville section of Palmer to Belchertown.
As has been the case all too often in recent weeks, an intense, very localized thunderstorm ripped through the Connecticut River Valley yesterday. The storm, which began just after noon, dropped more than an inch of rain in a little less than an hour in some locations, raising the waters in streams and smaller rivers. But while yesterday’s downpour drenched Hampden County, it missed Hampshire and Franklin counties for the most part.
The storm featured numerous lightning strikes, and firefighters in West Springfield and Agawam responded to a spate of building alarms triggered by the strikes.
The National Weather Service is predicting drier weather today and tomorrow, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the lower 80s both days. Sunday, should be hot, with temperatures in the upper 80s, but the chance of thunderstorms will return. For both Monday and Tuesday, which is Independence Day, the forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and temperatures from 75 to 85.
Hope he recovers but being underwater for thirty minutes is a long time. Sad story