Four people rescued from Raccoon River near Van Meter

Despite warnings from DNR officers, four people who launched three kayaks and a small boat into the Raccoon River on the north side of Van Meter had to be rescued minutes into their trip Monday afternoon.

“They struggled from the start,” said Travis Celeigh, who witnessed the incident. “We monitored and made sure they were safe and it quickly ended up becoming a bad situation.”

Celeigh and his wife saw one of the kayaks hit a bridge support.

“Once they went further down, we saw one of the boats taking on water,” they said.

Van Meter Fire Rescue launched an airboat around 2:45 p.m. to reach the three women and one man who were in the water. Witnesses said one of the victims became tangled in fishing line as they struggled to find a place to stay above the water.

“We're lucky to have four people make it back to shore safely, although it didn't end their day in a very good way,” said DNR Officer Dustin Eighmy. “We were happy that they were wearing their life jackets. We are at high flows, which means lots of debris downstream. It is not safe to be present at this time. If you are not at all experienced, I do not recommend going on the rivers.

The small boat capsized with one of the kayaks. Both will be removed once river levels are deemed safe, Eighmy said.