Civilians rescued from Mississippi after being thrown overboard in boating accident – Mississippi’s best local newspaper

NATCHEZ – Several people were rescued from the Mississippi River on Saturday, July 6, after a boating accident in which they were thrown overboard.

At least four civilians were safely rescued from the river, one of them with a head injury, said Everard Baker of Natchez Search and Rescue.

Wildlife and Fisheries officials and civilians were the first to send boats into the water and rescue the people floating in the river about two miles south of the Vidalia dock, authorities said in a news release.

“Search and rescue did not find them. My understanding is that they encountered something in the river and I assume from their position that it was a rock dam that juts out into the river and you can’t see it from the water,” Baker said.

Whatever hit ripped off the civilian boat’s engine and hurled four of the six passengers into the water, Baker said.

One suffered a head injury and the others had some bruises but were otherwise unharmed.

The condition of the injured is currently unknown.

In the press release, Vidalia Police Chief Joey Merrill thanked his emergency personnel, as well as the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office, Wildlife and Fisheries Department, Natchez Search and Rescue Department and the Vidalia and Natchez Fire Departments for their efforts in rescuing the civilians.