A group of young floaters were stranded on an island in the middle of the Nechako River on Sunday afternoon.
A trio of girls, two 16 year-olds and one 19 year-old, were on an inflatable raft when a small stick at the head of one of the islands near Wilson Park punctured their craft, said Prince George Search and Rescue president Jeff Smedley.
They had life jackets on board but weren't wearing them and they floated away as the raft deflated. But one of the girls made it to shore and was able to pull her friends onto land where they remained for about 90 minutes before a passerby saw them and contacted authorities at about 4:30 p.m.
A member of the Prince George Jet Boat Association was called in to get them off the island.
"It might have shook them up a little bit," Smedley said. "We'll see if they wear their life jackets in the future."
The rescued occurred a day after the annual Nechako float drew about 100 people without incident but just two hours after the body of a Prince George man was pulled from the Fraser River at Lansdowne Road, later identified as Colin Oliver Wesley, 65.
It will likely be a couple of weeks yet before the exact cause of Wesley's death is known, B.C. Coroners Service spokesperson Barbara McLintock said Tuesday.
Smedley said local rivers remain higher than usual and continue to run fast.
"We really noticed that on the floatilla, where people were trying to get out," Smedley said. "A lot of people were having a hard time."
He said the number of rescues is about the same as usual for this time of year but the high water poses a danger because the river's edge is running at the level of the onshore vegetation and some of the bank has been eroded, creating an undercut.
Life jackets are not mandatory on inflatable water craft but those who take to the water should not only bring life jackets but wear them, Smedley urged.
