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GUNLOCK, Washington County — A man was taken to a hospital in critical condition after he was pulled from a popular southern Utah reservoir Sunday morning.
Emergency crews responded to a report of a possible drowning shortly before 11:45 a.m., according to Dammeron Valley Fire and Rescue officials. Washington County sheriff's deputy Jacob Paul said a man jumped into the reservoir near the top of its waterfalls, but his friends did not see him come back up to the surface.
"They did end up finding him and pulling him out. He was not breathing at the time they pulled him out," Paul said.
Dammeron Valley Fire officials said two off-duty paramedics helped pull the man out of the water and perform CPR. The man, whose name and age were not immediately released, was flown by medical helicopter to St. George Regional Hospital in critical condition.
Crews from Santa Clara-Ivins Fire and Rescue and Gunlock Fire Department also responded to the incident.
It was the third rescue of its kind over the past few weeks. A 12-year-old girl was rescued from the waterfalls in a similar incident at the reservoir on May 21. Dammeron Valley Fire said they also responded to an incident on Saturday. They wrote that "conditions are dangerous and pose significant fall and drowning risk," in a social media post.
Gunlock State Park officials posted a caution to visitors back in March about the potential for high amounts of runoff this season.
"We invite visitors to enjoy this wonderful experience but want to remind the public to exercise vigilance and safety in the area," Gunlock State Park manager Jon Allred said in a statement at the time. "There is inherent risk when recreating outdoors, so safety and situational awareness are paramount."
