Three Eastern Iowans drowned Sunday when strong water currents pulled their fishing boat on the Mississippi River too close to a dam and capsized it, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The department identified the three Monday as Mitchell Thomson, 30, of Stanwood; Nicholas Thomson, 40, of Tipton; and Kirk Stout Sr., 61, of Marion.
They had been fishing in a restricted area close to a lock and dam near Jackson County’s Bellevue about 11 a.m. when witnesses saw their 20-feet-long, flat-bottom boat fill with water and overturn.
Some attempted to rescue the men, who were not wearing life jackets.
"Several of them raced up there, but what can you do without putting yourself in some serious danger?" asked Lucas Dever, an Iowa DNR conservation officer who responded to the incident.
The witnesses were able to pull one person from the water who had floated away from the dam, Dever said. Emergency responders retrieved the other two after they floated downstream.
Two of the men were determined to have died in the water. Another was taken by ambulance to a Dubuque hospital, where he died.
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The Mississippi River has a series of more than two dozen dams that create a staircase of water. At each dam site, there is a lock that acts as an elevator for boat traffic, raising the vessels up a step when traveling north or down a step when going south.
There are safety signs and lights that warn smaller fishing boats from getting too close, and those areas are off-limits for fishing, Dever said.
"Anytime being around the dams, it's important to have your life jackets on and to stay out of the restricted areas, because of the heavy, dangerous currents," he said.
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The department identified the three Monday as Mitchell Thomson, 30, of Stanwood; Nicholas Thomson, 40, of Tipton; and Kirk Stout Sr., 61, of Marion.
They had been fishing in a restricted area close to a lock and dam near Jackson County’s Bellevue about 11 a.m. when witnesses saw their 20-feet-long, flat-bottom boat fill with water and overturn.
Some attempted to rescue the men, who were not wearing life jackets.
"Several of them raced up there, but what can you do without putting yourself in some serious danger?" asked Lucas Dever, an Iowa DNR conservation officer who responded to the incident.
The witnesses were able to pull one person from the water who had floated away from the dam, Dever said. Emergency responders retrieved the other two after they floated downstream.
Two of the men were determined to have died in the water. Another was taken by ambulance to a Dubuque hospital, where he died.
ADVERTISING
The Mississippi River has a series of more than two dozen dams that create a staircase of water. At each dam site, there is a lock that acts as an elevator for boat traffic, raising the vessels up a step when traveling north or down a step when going south.
There are safety signs and lights that warn smaller fishing boats from getting too close, and those areas are off-limits for fishing, Dever said.
"Anytime being around the dams, it's important to have your life jackets on and to stay out of the restricted areas, because of the heavy, dangerous currents," he said.
3 Eastern Iowa fishermen drown in Mississippi River
They were residents of Marion, Stanwood and Tipton and were fishing Sunday too close to a dam near Bellevue.
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