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Boat capsizes on frigid Little Miami River

Posted at 6:34 PM, Mar 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-21 19:38:19-04

SYMMES TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- A man was rescued Tuesday after his fishing boat capsized, throwing him and a fellow fisherman into a powerful freezing current.

His companion was able to swim ashore by himself and run to the Indian Hill Winter Club for help. The first victim, however, was discovered clinging to a tree branch 500 yards downriver. When the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department found him, according to Captain Andy Huber, hypothermia had begun to set in.

"He said he couldn’t move anymore," Huber said. "He was probably from his waist down in the water, and he got as far as he could."

Authorities took the first man to the hospital as a precautionary measure after they rescued him. Deputy Chief Josh Blum said the water in which he'd been partially submerged was 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

"It’s very dangerous in the water," Huber said. "We don’t like to go out and rescue people for doing stuff in the water that is not safe because we need to go into those conditions to do the same thing."