Six People Rescued Thursday From Flooded River At Barrineau Park

May 2, 2014

Six people, including two children, were rescued from the flooded Perdido River at Barrineau Park Thursday afternoon.

The people were reportedly rafting when they fell off their rafts. The four adults and two children were found clinging to a log jam and train trestle just south of the Barrineau Park Road Bridge into Alabama.

First responders from the Molino Station of Escambia Rescue were unable to find a safe location to launch boat into the river.  Fighters were able to stretch a ladder over the water from the log jam to the shore and get the victims up to the railroad trestle. None of the six, who were in the water just under an hour after the first 911 call, were injured.

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Escambia County EMS and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also responded to the call.

Pictured top and below: First responders used a ladder as a makeshift bridge to rescue six people trapped on the flooded Perdido River at Barrineau Park Thursday afternoon. Pictured inset: A group of first responders walk back from a train trestle after making the success rescue. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

15 Responses to “Six People Rescued Thursday From Flooded River At Barrineau Park”

  1. Susan Clark on May 4th, 2014 3:08 pm

    Crazy!

  2. Wharf Rat on May 3rd, 2014 8:14 pm

    Charles Darwin , around 1859, promulgated a theory of evolution, in which some species will not survive. These people came close to winning the Darwin Award for 2014.

  3. JSCS on May 3rd, 2014 10:27 am

    Sometimes people just do not think. This could have been a real tragedy

    Thank the good Lord and the people who risked their safety by rescuing other people who should have used some common sense.

  4. survivor on May 3rd, 2014 7:22 am

    JMP … A SOCIAL WORKER? .. OR CPS SYMPATHIZER .. REALLY! foaming at the mouth to take the kids away based on neglect !! Shame on you .. just because they made a bad choice to go in the river .. Really now .. Natural Rivers can be a danger at any given time . Give me a break … live and let live .

  5. riverrat on May 3rd, 2014 6:56 am

    Like most folks in this area, I grew up in that river, and have nearly drowned in it three times, and those were when the river was its usual depth and current. It is swift, deep, and unpredictable at its best in spots and deadly at its worst. How those people looked at that river and their children and decided the two should mix is unfathomable!!! I was there on Wednesday, and it was a churning cauldron of debris, water, and danger, and that was long before it had crested (not sure if it has crested even now)…this proves the fact that you can’t fix some levels of stupid, not even with duct tape! Glad the rescuers are safe, seeing as these folks obviously did not care for their safety either…

  6. Fish Hawk on May 2nd, 2014 11:01 pm

    Talked to these young people earlier in the day at Fillingim Landing on Jack Branch Rd. . Tried to warn them of the dangers involved in running the river at flood stage.
    Figured they would give up the crazy idea once they had seen the river up stream at the bridge where they had headed to put in at. They were going to use tubes they said. Told them that was not smart. They would not listen.
    For folks on tubes and having little knowledge of the area they were in they are very lucky they walked away. I hoped they learned something from what they experienced. Things could have ended very badly. Glad all of them are safe now.

  7. JMP on May 2nd, 2014 11:20 am

    Why would this not be neglect… The lives of these children were put in danger.

  8. perdido fisherman on May 2nd, 2014 9:39 am

    There are several dangerous spots on this river for the inexperienced especially during a flood. I wouldn’t be surprised if these folks get a visit from DFCS after putting those kids lives at risk. They are so lucky no one was sucked under that jam, they would have never gotten out before drowning.
    I have been from one end of this river to the other and you never know what will happen when it’s out of it’s banks, even at normal level it has some spots that will put a novices life at risk, especially when they think they know what they’re doing. A log jam is like a vacuum cleaner and will suck stuff under it before you know it, I have seen boats pulled under them during high water.

  9. wendell on May 2nd, 2014 9:36 am

    I hope these people get the bill for the rescue. This is so much stupid in one spot it should be a criminal offense.

  10. molino jim on May 2nd, 2014 9:29 am

    Is this the same log jam everyone wants removed? I guess it was good it was there after all.

  11. Robert S. on May 2nd, 2014 7:40 am

    Glad the rafters and the First Responders are all safe.
    Too bad their time and resources had to be used because some people willingly chose to put their own safety in jeopardy.

    As to the idea of going rafting, going into, in any of our area rivers after so much rain that reminds me of “Hey Y’all Watch This…” can’t turn out good.

  12. Regina on May 2nd, 2014 7:07 am

    I am thinking: children do not realize the danger, adults should. Rafting down a swollen creek following a flood should be a no no for grownups – say nothing of the danger for little ones. Wonder what they were thinking?

  13. Chris on May 2nd, 2014 5:50 am

    With all that rain, the river should still be out of it banks! If you haven’t been down the river before that location is a bad spot to go through (the worst spot on the river). And right after a heavy rain I’m sure the log jam has the whole thing blocked until some one comes along and moves some of the logs for a little opening to get through. The water is alway swift there and in a curve at that location.
    Glad all made it out safe and alive…
    Hmmmmm, nothing more to say!!!!
    But if u go down the river remember to Leave Only your FOOT PRINTS!!

  14. JDG on May 2nd, 2014 5:40 am

    What are they doing in the river rafting to start with? Not to smart.

  15. Pineville Pi on May 2nd, 2014 4:47 am

    I went to look at the river and turned around at the tracks, saw these people putting in their rafts and floats. I thought it was mighty cold and dangerous to do this. Glad all is well and safe.