2 kayakers pulled to safety

Rescuers in Montgomery County, Iowa, pulled to safety two people stuck on a log Saturday in the Nishnabotna River.

The two were cold and tired but not injured, said Bob Eisenbraun, a firefighter and paramedic with the Red Oak Fire Department.

The incident began when one of two kayakers upset his kayak, sending the life jacket he was not wearing downstream, Eisenbraun said. The man swam to a log and called his son, using a cell phone he had on him in a plastic bag.

The other kayaker also called for help.

The son arrived with a friend, who, wearing a life jacket, swam out with another life jacket for the stranded father. But the rescuer dropped the extra life jacket in the process, Eisenbraun said, and was too tired and cold to help the other man back to shore.

So the two waited on the log for help from rescuers from Red Oak, Clarinda and Ringgold County, including dive team members. They were called in shortly after 4 p.m.

The kayaker who was the first in the river spent about an hour and a half on the log, Eisenbraun said.

-- Susan Szalewski