Woman clings to logs after kayak flips in river rapids, Arizona firefighters say

Firefighters rescued a woman found clinging to logs in the Verde River after her kayak flipped, Arizona officials reported.

Firefighters from the Verde Valley Fire District were able to rescue the woman and her kayak near Cottonwood on Sunday, April 9, officials said in a news release.

She became trapped against the logs after her kayak overturned, the release said.

“She was being pushed by the water into those logs and was holding on as long as she could,” Fire Chief Danny Johnson told KNXV. “She was able to get her cell phone and was able to get it working with a little bit of water damage.”

The woman’s 911 call helped rescuers pinpoint her location, the news outlet reported.

“Please be safe on our river and don’t kayak alone,” firefighters said in the release.

Cottonwood is a city of 6,200 people about 100 miles north of Phoenix.

This story was originally published April 11, 2023 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Woman clings to logs after kayak flips in river rapids, Arizona firefighters say."