A 75-year-old Maryland woman drowned after a canoe she was in capsized in Maine Wednesday evening, authorities said.
Xiaolian Ding of Silver Spring, Maryland, drowned when the canoe she was in overturned, trapping her underneath it at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife said in a press release.
Ding and her family had rented a canoe in Bethel, Maine, and were riding it down the Androscoggin River, the department said. Ding's husband, Nimin Wang, 82, paddled in the back of the canoe, Ding's daughter, Qiong Wang, 49, paddled in the front and Ding sat in the middle, the department said.
While they were traveling, the canoe got stuck on a rock, the department said. When Ding's husband and daughter tried to dislodge the canoe, it overturned, throwing them from the canoe. Ding was trapped underneath it as it floated downriver, according to the release.
Nimin and Qiong brought Ding to shore as a witness called 911. The father, daughter and Bethel Rescue emergency personnel attmempted to revive Ding, but they were unsuccessful, the department said.
