Several college students were rescued from the Rappahannock River after a river tour guide's canoe overturned Saturday afternoon, Stafford County Fire and Rescue said.
Students from the University of Mary Washington taking a river tour when the guide's canoe overturned, authorities said. Some students managed to get to shore, but eight students and the guide were stranded.
Crews from Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg assisted Stafford County Fire and Rescue in the search-and-rescue mission that took more than three hours, authorities said.
“Crews from our department as well as the City of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania had a difficult time pinpointing the locations of the students initially,” Stafford County Fire and Rescue Chief Mark Lockhart said.
They found the students in about an hour and 40 minutes, and needed another hour and a half to get them all off the water.
The students and their guide were evaluated by paramedics and didn't need further treatment.
