1 man dead after raft flips near Salida, marking third death in the Arkansas River in a week

CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is investigating a rafting accident Friday afternoon that left one man dead.

CPW officials said the incident happened on the Arkansas River near Salida when a private raft carrying three people entered the Bear Creek Rapid and flipped.

According to CPW, one passenger swam to shore, and a ranger with CPW's Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) rescued a second passenger from the water.

Officials believe the third passenger became entangled with the raft as it continued down the river, after the raft was spotted two miles downstream.

The third passenger was found unresponsive in his life jacket on an island above the Wellsville Bridge.

CPW said people in a different raft brought the man to shore and performed CPR until EMS responders arrived, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Chaffee County Coroner is working to determine an official cause of death. CPW said the coroner will also formally identify the man and notify his family.

This incident marks the 14th water-related death in the state this year, according to CPW, and the third death in the Arkansas River in one week.

An AHRA park manager is urging anyone interested in rafting to go with a commercial rafting company or to check public conditions before entering the Arkansas River.