WEST FORKS PLANTATION — One man from York is dead as a result of a commercial whitewater rafting incident on the Dead River near Bingham, according to the Maine Warden Service.
Richard Sanders, 67, was on a raft guided by North Country River, of Bingham, and game wardens responded to a report about the incident about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Cpl. John MacDonald, a warden service spokesman, said in a news release.
The raft was carrying seven passengers, including the guide. Wardens say all passengers were ejected from the raft when it flipped over on a remote portion of the river called Mile Long Rapid. Sanders may have been under the water for several minutes.
Sanders was wearing a life jacket as required by law, MacDonald said in the release. He was also wearing a helmet. The man was pulled from the water and lifesaving measures were performed by civilians and North Country Rivers employees but were unsuccessful.
West Forks Fire and Rescue and the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department assisted at the scene.
Game wardens are continuing to investigate the incident.
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