As a man died in hospital after being tossed from a raft along Harvie Passage, fire department officials say the message for inexperienced river enthusiasts to avoid the rapids is not being heard.
"This incident has got to refocus everybody," said Calgary Fire Department battalion chief Larry Fisher.
"It is unbelievably frustrating for us and it scares the blazes out of me that the message isn't getting to everyone. It looks fun and inviting, but it is very dangerous."
In Monday's incident, a man was taken to Foothills Hospital in life-threatening condition following a dramatic rescue on the Bow River by the water rescue team.
Just after 4 p.m., four adults were floating in a raft when it was swept up in the swift rapids and capsized.
Three of the passengers made it to the shore, but the fourth was swept downstream by the strong current. All four were wearing life-jackets.
The water rescue team plucked the man from the river near the 17th Avenue bridge, about 750 metres from the scene of the incident, said spokesman Jayson Doysher.
The rafter was found unconscious in critical, life-threatening condition caused by near drowning.
He later died of his injuries at Foothills Hospital, officials said.
While the rescuers were wrapping up that incident, a kayaker flipped and someone on a nearby raft scrambled to help. Both appeared unhurt.
Monday's incident comes on the heels of emergency responders pleading with people to stay off the rivers over the long weekend because of extremely high and fast water levels. In addition, the water is littered with debris, such as logs and branches, which increases the danger level.
Fisher said most people complied with the request from emergency services on Saturday and Sunday, and there were fewer boats on the river than anticipated.
That changed Monday, though, as the mercury rose, with five separate river rescues, including the fatal one.
Fisher said he, and many others in the fire department, are concerned by the number of inexperienced boaters, rafters and kayakers tackling Harvie Passage, which, under typical conditions, boasts a less turbulent Class II rapid and one with a challenging Class III rapid.
"I am so worried that there is this one family out there that we have missed, whom we haven't got the message to," said Fisher. "They are going to come floating along in a raft and it's going to be a huge surprise to them and we are going to lose them. That is my biggest fear."
Fisher said the water temperature at this time of year is about 5 C.
He reminded experienced kayakers to wear the proper gear, including a helmet. "It's tough enough to survive a spill in that water. But with no helmet and you hit your head on the rocks under the water it's even tougher."
The area around the existing weir on the Bow River was reconstructed to form a series of man-made pools and rapids, which opened to users in May. Before the reconstruction, the weir's hydraulic action made it nearly impossible for people caught in the churning water to get out. Over the past 100 years, the weir killed 14 people.
When the passage opened in May, officials warned of the dangers.
"We want to really point out to people who are intending to use the river over the summer that it isn't a waterslide," said Derek Lovlin, operations manager with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. "Don't misinterpret it - it's safer, but there's still risk involved."
At the same time, while creating a safer river was the No. 1 priority of the Harvie Passage project, designers of the water features also had recreation in mind. Boulders, chutes, drops, play holes and play waves combine to create a type of "water playground" that exists in few other North American urban centres.
Fisher said there is sufficient warning and signage in place to let river enthusiasts know what's ahead.
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© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Rafter dies of injuries after Bow River rescue
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