2 Die in Oregon Rapids; 13 Rescued, Several Missing

A surge of foaming, swirling water roared through a narrow gorge, killing two white-water rafters, leaving as many as 17 missing and forcing 13 people to cling for life to the mossy, 1,800-foot walls overnight.

Helicopters rescued 13 people Monday from the rocks along the treacherous stretch of southwestern Oregon’s Illinois River known as the Green Wall.

The only other traces of Sunday’s accident were two empty, overturned rafts floating three miles downriver.

The surge was caused by heavy rain and snowmelt that more than doubled the water volume on the river in a day and a half.

“When that water comes through that chute, there’s nothing you can do, there’s nowhere you can go to escape,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Metcalf.

A clerk at a grocery where rafters are required to leave their permits said that a warning from the U.S. Forest Service about conditions on the river came in minutes after the group set out.

Rescuers had to wait until daybreak Monday to search for survivors because the raging waters were too dangerous for rescue boats to go in, and heavy rain and fog prevented helicopters from flying over the remote canyon.

A kayaker, who was on the river during the surge, managed to paddle to a landing and call police. He said a river-running buddy and a white-water rafter were killed and several people were clinging to the bank.

Coast Guard officials said one body was recovered and 13 people were plucked from the rocks along a mile and a half stretch of the river. They appeared to be in good condition; three had mild cases of hypothermia.

“They weren’t beat up or bruised or anything like that--they’re just cold,” said Millie Bird, an administrator at the hospital where the three were treated.

Reports differed over the number of people missing. The Sheriff’s Department, the lead investigative agency, said as many as 17 people were unaccounted for, while the Coast Guard put the figure at four to seven.

A normal flow on the river is 3,000 cubic feet per second; it was measured Monday at 20,000 cubic feet per second.

Under normal conditions, the Illinois is considered a Class 5 difficulty river, with the top rating, a Class 6, considered to be “run at risk of death.”