3 Drown, 10 Saved After Raft Tips on Snake River

A raft that was part of a scenic float trip on the Snake River overturned Friday in Grand Teton National Park. Three people drowned; 10 others who were in the raft were rescued, park officials said.

Park spokeswoman Joan Anzelmo said two women and a man died.

She declined to release their names or hometowns, saying the park service was still trying to notify their families.

She said the victims were not locals.

Thirteen people, including the boatman from Grand Teton Lodge Co., a park concessionaire, were on the raft when it capsized about a mile north of Moose in the southern part of the park, Anzelmo said.

The boatman and nine passengers were rescued, including one person who had become stranded on an island in the middle of the river.

Some passengers were picked up by people on other float tours that came down the river.

Anzelmo said rescued passengers and the boatman reported that everyone aboard was wearing a flotation device, as required by park regulations.

The Grand Teton Lodge Co. reported the accident just after 11 a.m.

When rescuers arrived, one of the victims was found submerged in a log jam and was unresponsive when pulled free; attempts to revive the other two victims at the scene were unsuccessful.

Rescuers finished searching the river Friday afternoon when everyone on the raft was accounted for.

Investigators were looking into the accident.

“The goal this afternoon was to save lives, to get those in the river who needed assistance and, unfortunately, to find those who did not survive,” Anzelmo said.

Before Friday’s accident, three people had drowned in the last 56 years on the Snake River within the park’s borders.

Two were involved in boating accidents; the third was a fisherman who slipped and fell into the river.