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Nishi Gupta Reporting A man is dead after a ride down the Jordan River. He and his brother were canoeing on the Jordan River this afternoon. To avoid going through a waterfall, the pair got out of the canoe. But when they passed the waterfall and got back in, the boat capsized.
After that, Steve Gardner was able to get himself and his brother Gary out of the water. Unfortunately, Gary was already unconscious. He died about seven minutes after making it to the hospital.
The Jordan River and its gushing water is a sign of the times.
Dave Lehnhof/Unified Fire Authority: "We have really, really high runoff this year. The rivers are full, the streams are full. They're dangerous, very dangerous."
That danger played out this afternoon.
Dave Lehnhof/ Unified Fire Authority: "We had two brothers who were coming down the river with a canoe."
At some point, the canoe capsized and the brothers-- one 36 years old, the other 26 years old-- were dumped in.
Officials say the two got trapped in what's called a boil. The water bubbles and churns, and just keeps recirculating. So if anything gets in there, it's hard for it to get out. In this case, the guys kept getting pulled back in."
Even with all that force, somehow the older brother was able to get his younger brother to the banks. Other people helped pull them out, and perform CPR until paramedics could step in.
Dave Lehnhof/ Unified Fire Authority: "They went through a lot of immediate lifesaving procedures on the scene."
The younger brother was flown to University Hospital. He died later. The older brother was taken by ambulance. He is now back home.
Officials say the river water is cold because of the excessive runoff this year. Due to that runoff and the unique circumstances it creates, they want to remind people to be extra careful near rivers and streams.
