By Shereen Siewert
Rescue crews on Sunday performed three swift water rescues near Wausau, bringing kayakers who capsized their boats to safety.
In one of the rescues, witnesses say kayakers put their boats into the Eau Claire River near Hwy. Z, but the kayaks were later discovered empty. All boaters were pulled safely from the water.
The South Area Fire District, in a Facebook post, said the boaters were pulled under after coming across debris that stretches across the entire river, west of Yellow Banks Park.
SAFER officials say the water on the Eau Claire River is high and fast, a situation that could be complicated further by rainstorms in the forecast.
No one was seriously injured.
SAFER officials are urging all boaters and kayakers to use caution and wear life jackets at all times when navigating the river.
