A water rescue team towed a small boat carrying a family away from the edge of a dam in a Virginia reservoir Monday, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue said.
A man called 911 about 5:30 p.m. to report being stuck with his family in a small fishing boat at the Goose Creek Reservoir Dam, fire and rescue said. The boat’s motor failed and the boat drifted until it stopped at the edge of the 20-foot dam, where it teetered with two adults and three small children all sitting at the end of the boat away from the edge to prevent it from falling over the dam.
First-responders couldn’t reach the boat with an aerial ladder but were able to use a throw rope to get a life vest to the one person on the boat who didn’t have one, fire and rescue said.
When the water rescue team arrived, it quickly managed to tow the boat safely to shore, fire and rescue said. No one was injured.
“Five lives were saved due to the combined efforts of the men and women of our Fire and Rescue System,” Chief Keith Brower said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of their efforts.”
During the rescue, crews waited downstream with rescue equipment in case the boat did go over the dam.
